I'm alive!

I guess since my last post was about possible terrorism in Perth, I should update that this American is safe and sound!  No terrorism or protests, so all good.  We spent the day they were expecting the terrorists about an hour north of here having lunch outside on a very nice sunny Sunday afternoon at this really tasty bakery.  On the way back, curiosity got the best of me and we rode to the areas that they were thinking protesters would be at.  I thought, nobody can tell by looking at me in a car that I'm American.  Wayne was wearing his UK national championship shirt, and I'm pretty sure if anyone was burning the US flag, he would have gone after them... lol. 

 

In Kentucky we had a saying "If you don't like the weather, wait a few hours" because the weather was so sporadic.  Well, lately I feel like I'm in Kentucky.  Well, minus the Aussie accents, Kangaroos (which there was a HUGE one dead on the freeway the other day, I'm thinking the car was hurt MORE than the MASSIVE dead kangaroo!!) and the GORGEOUS beaches.  This week, the temps were in the 40s' at night/morning, and 50's/low 60's in the day (on a GOOD day) with winds and massive rain.  Today was sunny and 60's.  Tomorrow, 80's.  Monday, 90's.  Damn.  Helloooo Beach.....and helllooooo to the not-ready-for-the-beach-body.  Even though I am at my lowest weight in probably 4 years now!

 

Tonight was a nice night in with Pizza and a DVD.  Nice and quiet.  Monday is a public holiday here which means no work!  Woot!  It's the Queen's Birthday Holiday.  However, it's NOT the Queen's ACTUAL birthday.  It's just when Western Australia Celebrates it???  Yeah, I find it quite odd..but I will certainly not complain about a day off work WITH PAY!

 

Anyways our big night in is ending withi a bedtime before 11.  Oh, who am I ??????    lmao.  Until next time!

Shit is getting real....

And real close to me!!

This is an email that was sent out........

"Consulate General of the United States
LEVEL 4 16 ST. GEORGES TERRACE, PERTH WA 6000
+618-6144-5100 http://canberra.usembassy.gov/
...

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS IMPORTANT
Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens

Perth law enforcement authorities have advised of possible
demonstrations in Perth for Sunday, September 23. U.S. citizens should
avoid Perth's King's Park, the area around Parliament House, Forrest
Place, and Hyde Park.

Fast-forming anti-American protests in Australia remain possible. U.S.
citizens should in all cases avoid any political demonstrations that may
develop and continue to monitor the Australian media and Consulate
messages to obtain the latest information. In the event an
anti-American demonstration develops, U.S. citizens should leave the
area promptly.

The Department of State remains concerned about the threat of violence
against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. U.S. citizens
are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance, to be aware of their
surroundings and to take appropriate steps to increase their security
awareness. The U.S. Consulate General has advised its staff members to
avoid attracting attention to themselves as U.S. citizens. For
additional information on maintaining a discreet profile, please refer
to "A Safe Trip Abroad"
<http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/safety_1747.html> .

U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of
alert. These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend
public services to assess their security posture. In those instances,
U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide
emergency services to U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens abroad are urged to
monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate."

 

Anti American things.. right here.. in the city I live in!  Crazy.  Bullshit.  Scary... yeah, those three words sum it up!

Mail....

I'm usually excited to get mail.  For example, this week I received a t-shirt from my very dear friend (and kinda like a brother) Steve.  It was our annual tailgating tshirt for "Happy Camp" (the name my tailgating crew has gone by for years).  It totally made my day.  Even though anytime I wear anything that says "UK" on it, people ask me if I'm from the UK...... smh.  Anyways, it meant the world to me, as silly as that sounds.

 

Anyways... today was NOT a day I was excited for mail.  No, I haven't gotten ANOTHER speeding ticket... but the payment information for the loan on my new car.  Sighhhhh.   Granted, a newer car was a necessity.  (And it's sometimes exciting to know that this car will one day have baby seats in the back.....)  It's just been nice to not have to deal with a car payment.  Oh well, such is adult life I reckon! 

 

Wayne gets back in about 48 hrs.  Cannot wait.   Tomorrow I get my keratin done (3 HOURS!!!!) and dinner with two pals (Americans).

 

This weekend they are suspecting anti-American protests and such in some areas here.  How scary.  And such bullshit.  I'm off work tomorrow (and busy as previously mentioned), but I'm thinking I will play it safe on the weekend and stay home.   Or if I go out, pretend to be mute??  smh.  What is the world coming to!!!!!

 

Anyways, off to finish the night off with some t.v. and counting down the hours until my love is home!! You would think after over a year of living here and being use to trips, I would adjust to them..... however I've only gotten to physically talk to him once this week, the rest is by text.  It's part of us, but I always miss him so much.  Maybe one day I'll adjust.

 

Until next time! 

Rainy night!

After such a beautiful weekend... it's a rainy week!!!   At least its warm.  I love the sound of rain though. 

Today, down under, was Monday.  My boss was out, which meant a great day.  I will have her job one day.  Just wait.................................................

Enough said on that.  For now......

The big trend now??????  Mt Dew now has caffeine down under. Up until a couple months ago it was a caffeine FREE soda............ I WOULD  say "third worlding it" but since my love is LITERALLY third worlding it right now, I will zip my lips.  But seriously... why else would anyone DRINK Mt. Dew????

I'm really missing Wayne tonight.  I think it's because it's been AGES since he was on a long trip.  But that's part of our life.  At least it's not months of long distance.  Right now our only communication is by text.  I am really hoping to hear his voice tomorrow though.  yeah, yeah, yeah..... I'm not a sappy gal, but I love my Aussie.  Deal with it, yo!  ha.ha.

Anyways, off to watch some girlie tv (as I do when I have control of the tv!) and a possible EARLY bedtime as I am wiped!!!

ttfn

Spring in September?

One of the hardest things to adjust to since moving to Australia is the different seasons in the southern hemisphere.  At Christmas, it's hot.  In July, it's the coldest month.  Wait.  WHAT??  As I have mentioned before, there are many times in our winter (June/July/August) that I would find myself thinking about Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving, etc.  Only to go "waiiittttt a minute.  It's JUNE??".  My birthday (which I have refused to admit having since I turned 29 essentially..haha) is at the end of August.  In the northern hemisphere this is close to the end of summer, and the beginning of a new school year.  Here, it's the end of winter and a tad chilly.  It just feels so weird.  I know it'll never feel the same, so I've convinced myself instead of comparing to what I'm use to, to teach myself THIS is how it is NOW.  And it actually works pretty well.  For the most part. 

 

This weekend was a gorgeous one.  Blue skies.  No clouds.  Slight breeze.  I spent a couple hours late this afternoon at the beach about 5 minutes from our house.  I strolled along a path getting a nice walk in, then sat at a bench and observed, and on the pier and observed.  There is one set of rocks wayyy out in the ocean at this beach that every time I see I think of my dad.   Why?  Because he was joking around on his trip here in February that he wanted to swim out to the rocks...but was scared of sharks....and then suggested I swim ahead of him so if there were sharks, they'd get me first... lol... do ya feel the love???  Its little things like that that I always remember and cherish.

 

Anyways life down under has returned to normal since our trip.  I'm over the flu (thank GOD!) and work is back to giving me the total shits.  Oh well.  Wayne is currently away on his longest trip in months.  And not in a glorious area.  It's a country where apparently cannibalism is still an issue!!!  Last night as he was trying to reassure me on the trip he said "don't worry babe, there is no cannibalism at the airport"  I busted up laughing and said "I bet that's a statement you NEVER thought you would EVER say..."   I always worry about him on his trips, but this one I'm more worried about.  I was fine until him mum and grandfather expressed concern.  I will miss him and HOPE we have some way to talk while he's gone.  The trips with NO way to communicate are the longest ones.  Ever. 

 

Everything else is going pretty well.  We are still busy with a certain thing, and as soon as I can I will go into details on that.   ;) 

 

Come on...everyone loves a cliffhanger??? Right?????

 

Hehehehe.

 

Anyways, I am off to watch some Sunday night t.v. followed by taking up the ENTIRE bed (one of the only benefits of the boy being away.)  Until next time...

Back in the land down under.

Wow, that was a fast four weeks.  What a blast we had!  I have uploaded pics onto facebook so check em out!  These are a FRACTION of the photos I took.. and still need to get some from Wayne (like the para sailing pics).

 

Jet lag kicked our butts last week, and yesterday I was diagnosed with... the flu.  You've GOT to be kidding me?  So, I was sent home from work, and on the way home my car broke down.  What an awesome Monday.  Anyways, so new(er) car shopping is now on deck, along with other stuff (the "secret" stuff, that some of your readers know about.... hehe).

 

Anyways the trip was great.  Wayne's grandfather has always given me wise advise... he said to me in private before we left "if you two can survive this trip together, you can survive anything"  Which at first KINDA made me nervous to be honest..lol.  And while there were times here and there we wanted to kill each other, all in all it was a great trip really.  We had packing the car and checking in and out of hotels down to a science.  Seriously...we could have gotten golden medals for it.  One gentleman even commented after loading the car on my own in less than a minute "I take it you've done this before!"  lol.  I think the trip really made me realise, and appreciate the fact that the biggest foundation of our relationship is that we were friends for so many years.  There were times that we'd be traveling, cutting up, and it seems like you are just on a trip with your best friend.  Lucky for me, my best friend is also the man I fell in love with.  I really enjoyed it.  We could go from cutting and up and giving each other SUCH a hard time, to a nice romantic cute couple that were head over heels in love.  What a combo!

 

Upon arriving back in Perth, I was glad to be home.  That does NOT mean leaving America was easy.  Saying goodbye to my friends and family was hard, as always.  Taking off from Los Angelos I cried the first 30 minutes (or longer) of the flight. Which meant when it was time to sleep, I was OUT (you girls know what I mean... release of estrogen via tears = pure exhaustion!)  The night before we left I had a rough night.  I stayed in and had a chick night in watching Sweet Home Alabama.  Not the greatest movie looking back.  "you can't have roots and wings"  "when I'm there it fits, but when I'm here, it fits too"  totally summed up the trip and I had a lot of tears that night, esp as I made some "goodbye" phone calls.  As soon as we were in Kentucky I felt like I was home.  As soon as we landed in Perth, I also felt like I was at home.  It's simply part of it.  You can't combine both worlds.  Maybe temporary here and there.  But not forever.  But at the end of the day, you gotta follow your heart.  And my heart is here in Perth.  Luckily MOST of my family and friends understand, and respect that. 

 

Anyways, there are tons of things to blog about, but I'm just beat from Mr. FLU bug.  I've been up for four hours today and dont anticipate much longer.  32 is kicking my ass.   Yeah, turned 32 on Sunday, woke up Sunday morning with my back hurting, and Monday with the flu.  Sooo should've skipped this bday!

 

Until next time....

I'm "home"

It's been ages since I have blogged...we are now in America!

This is our first visit to my folks new home, and I love it.  I'm so happy to see them happy and enjoying their new home.  I walked into "my room"....and it SMELT like my room.  And there were so many things up that reminded me that it truly was my room!  Really awesome.

We had a 36'ish hour ride to get here.... luckily we had the middle seat empty, so we had lots of spare space. Not to mention first class lounge access which included free food, alcohol, andddddd a massage. Just an average day ;) hehe

Today we went to Clearwater and had an amazing time.  Wayne and I went Para sailing (photos to follow!!), then we went and had drinks (aka.. BUCKETS)  (we =me and mom..lol)

I'm having a blast.  I'm happy to see the folks happy and I love their house.

Tongiht Is my BFF's bachelorette party and I hate that I'm missing it.  She asked if I would drink for her, and therefore, I'm drinking!! lol.

It's so weird... as soon as I'm here, I feel like this is home.  America.  It is so awesome to see the places I am use to.. Taco Bell.. Wendys... Arbys.... Dunkin Donughts...... Texas Roadhouse.. All the weight I have lost up until now...well, I just may gain.

It's just hard to be here and feel like this is where I belong, but yet think about Australia and think that is where I belong.  Tonight after the boys went to bed, "Undercover Boss" came on.. and guess what?  It was "Undercover Boss Australia"  and it was IGA and Leanards.  Instantly, I felt like that was home.

I guess home is where the heart is.  And although my family and closest friends are here.  I can safely say my heart is in Australia.  It has become my home.  I even feel freaked out driving on the "wrong" side of the road!!  Crazy!

Oh, and can I mention, mom and I went wedding dress shopping??  Let's just say we can check THAT off the list.  :D