Straya Day!

Happy Australia Day, party people! 

 

Australia Day is a national holiday and marks the anniversary of the first British ships arrival in New South Wales in 1788. 

It's a lot like the 4th of July...people grill out, go to the beach, drink, etc. 

John and I bought some pretty kewl shirts and headed to Sirius Cove Bay in Mosman. We met up with our American Expats group for some floatin, food, and fun!

This happened to be a dog beach and we cannot waaaaait to take Rudy here when he gets here in 3 weeks(!!!!). Oh my gosh- he is going to love it. We miss him so much!! However, I think he is holding up just fine without us. 

Snoozin at Nana's-

Cuddles with Pam and Will-

And catching up on his favorite shows-

We had the day after Australia Day off work and spent it watching 17 thousand episodes of Homeland and staring out the window of our new apartment. 

How pretty is this city!!! I mean come onnnnn! 

Happy Birthday John Boy!!!

Happy 28th birthday to my main squeeze, John William Wells! 

My birthday gift to him was surfing lessons...wahoo! We had a 2 hour lesson at Bondi Beach. Let's just say it was a challenge and we both need a second chance at proving ourselves as coordinated, semi-athletic human beings 

It was actually really fun. I mean, neither of us like when we aren't good at something. But hey! Next time, we will just rent boards and go to the beach when it's not packed so we can practice our skillz on our own time. 

Yesterday, on John's actual birthday, we had drinks with friends at a park behind the opera house. 

It was also Sarah's birthday!

It was also a farewell to Sarah and Robert! They are moving to Singapore for his job. Sad to say goodbye to new friends...we felt like we were just getting started! But Sarah mentioned last night it's crazy that the more you travel and expand your circle, the smaller the world feels. So true. They plan to end back up in the States in a few years so we will see them again for sure. ..and maybe even make a trip to Singapore?!

Have a good week, loved ones! 

I can't be bothered

"I can't be bothered" is my current favorite Australian phrase. 
Do you want to meet up at the beach after work? I can't be bothered with that today.
Do you want to grab some lunch? I can't be bothered with that.. I packed my lunch.
Wow, that person goes to the gym on their lunch break? I can't be bothered doing that.
It may sound kind of cocky.. but it's not taken that way here. I love it!

"Too easy" is another one I love...it is the equivalent of the US phrase "no problem"
After we order at a restaurant the server might say "too easy"
A customer thanks one of John's coworkers for a quote and he says "too easy, mate"
After my manager explains a new tool to me and I tell her I understand she says "too easy"

You know how the Aussies love their abbreviations.. some new ones we have heard:
devo'd= devastated (I'd be absolutely devo'd if they cancel the show!)
arvo= afternoon (Do you have any plans for the arvo?)

Also, instead of Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, they call them Hens and Bucks Nights.

In other news... we joined a gym! There is a an Anytime Fitness near our work and we are looking forward to getting back in a workout routine now that we are settled.

Speaking of settled... we are moving to another apartment. Womp womp. We were so surprised with how hard it was to find a place the first time around, we didn't ask if our building allowed pets. Turns out, they don't. But this little guy is coming next month, so we gotta go!

We found the apartment search much easier this time. However, I inquired to about 60 apartments asking about their pet policy... and only 4 units allowed pets. 4! We actually got approved/accepted to all 4 so we had our pick. And we are moving to the building next door. Literally...the building we are in now and the new building share a parking garage. So we get to stay in our cute little part of town ( Kirribilli/Milsons Point) and the actual move should be pretty easy!

Cheers :)

Blue Mountains and A Different Kind of Work

Last weekend, John and I (plus our friends, Josh & Ashleigh) made a trip to the Blue Mountains. A day trip to the Blue Mountains was on our long list of things we want to do while living in Australia.. and it did not disappoint! Hard to believe this area is only a couple of hours west of Sydney.

In other news..

I started work this week and so far so good! Really like my manager.. really like my team. I'll be training/shadowing until "First of Feb" and then I will be on my way. Some observations/things I find funny:

-My manager forgot it was my first day... so I had no computer, no log in, no desk, etc. But "no worries!!"...typical Australia.

-Me: "What time should I come in tomorrow?"... My manager: "Oh I don't care... sometime in the morning. 8? 9? Whatever"

- A lot of employees are STILL on holiday. Their out of office email says "I am on annual holiday from December 18th to February 1st"... say what??? can you imagine??

-I mean I know people are just getting back into the swing of things from holiday.. but people are taking 2 hour lunches... working out at lunch and staying in their workout clothes the rest of the day... walking around/hanging out with people for 20 minutes at a time throughout the day...

-Both John and I work with a very international team. I work with 3 South Africans, 2 Scots, 1 Brit, 1 Frenchman, and 1 Australian. Side note: I literally cannot understand a single thing the Scottish people say. Not. A. Thing.
 -John mentioned this to me before, but I am really noticing it now that I am working. I don't think learning to type was a priority for Australian kids growing up. Almost all of the Aussies we have been around type-- or "peck"-- with 2 fingers, look at the keyboard when typing, and make lots of spelling errors. Interesting... vedy vedy interesting.
- the word "mental"=cool/wild.... "the concert was totally mental" or "the party was mental"
- "good on you"= thanks for doing that/atta boy
- "ta"-thank you

That's all for now... hope everyone is having a good 2014 so far!

Looking Back on 2013

Twenty thirteen- you were a good one!!

We rang in the new year with friends...

Celebrated the love of these two...





 Took a trip to New Orleans with my crazy family...

I turned 26 and John turned 27...







 We got Rudy!!!



 

John ran his 2nd marathon in DC and I drank Bloody Mary's with Jani...

I celebrated a new job with a trip to the beach with Mom....

 My sweet grandparents celebrated 60 years of marriage..

I did a few triathlons...

We made some trips up to the lake...

We visited friends in NYC...

 We had some fun visitors...

Rudy got his balls chopped off...(traumatizing)

John had a health scare and surgery but we were shown so much love and support from everyone around us...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We traveled to Mexico with some besties....

 

 

 

 

We visited Chicago and all of our people there..

 

 

 We made a trip down to ole Bama....

 

 

 We played/heard lots of music...

We celebrated 3 years of mawwage, sweet mawwage...

 

We said goodbye to our family and friends in the USA...

 

 

 

 

We packed our bags and moved to Australia!





















We rang in 2014 with some champagne and fireworks

Whew! What a busy but exciting year!! Makes me so happy to look back on all of the things we experienced and all of the love we felt in 2013.  Can't wait to see what this year holds. Happy New Year!