3 Weeks!

Just wanted to let you all know that it is now down to 3 weeks until I come home. I am so excited it is basically all I think about. I have been out of work now for a month, but got a call from the agency on Friday telling me that Hunter Water wanted me back for a week. I go back to work tomorrow which means that I am not sitting around the house with nothing to do. My mind will be occupied for a week with work stuff so then I will only have to worry about the two weeks I will have left which will fly by! See you all soon.

Byron Bay

This past weekend, Jimmy and I went up north to a place called Byron Bay. The reason we went in the first place was because he was doing another triathlon...I know, he is a little exercise crazy right? The triathlon over the weekend was Olympic distance and he finished the race in 2 hrs 42 minutes. But just to back track a little, on the way up to Byron (all 8 hours of the drive) we passed by two "Big" items. Apparently they have these all over Australia. The first one we came across was the Big Banana. Pretty big right? The next one along the drive that we passed was the Big Prawn. They don't call them shrimp here...so that line on the movie Dumb and Dumber isn't correct..."Let's put another shrimp on the barb-e." Anyways, back to the Prawn... After I got done taking those tourist pictures, there was more to come when we got into Byron because it is the most Eastern part of the Australian Mainland...as you will see the picture... This lighthouse was where the photo above was taken. You will see in the following picture that you can follow the path all the way down to the water. This is just another picture of Me and Jimmy at another lighthouse...sort of a tradition now. So, back to the triathlon. This one provided bibs to wear (the top he is wearing is called a bib or a singlet) and let me tell you it was hilarious because it was a little short and tight. After we had a good laugh, he started his race and 2 hrs and 42 minutes later he crossed the finish line. I was so proud of him I had to just give him a hug...sweaty and all. He decided to take a picture of that moment and I have to say I think it is our best picture yet. Although I tell Jimmy that he is crazy almost on a daily basis, I support everything that he is doing with the triathlons. Byron Bay was the one he wanted to finish most of all and he did in good time might I add. So Jimmy, when does the training for the first half Iron Man start? :)

Manly

On Saturday night James and I met up with some friends for dinner in Manly (which is a place in Sydney). We went to a Tapas restaurant and can I just say there was a lot of food and 2 jugs of Sangria and nothing was left on the table. Leave it to our group to dominate all of the food and drinks! Anyways, James set up the reservation and when we got there the waitress said that it was made for Sunday instead of Saturday. Through all of the drama, we finally got a table and we ended up sharing it with another party of five. A little strange at first but it worked out really well. It was a great time. This is my friend Meg. Oh, I can't forget Doyle in the corner... Here is Me and Jimmy. Doesn't he look handsome? :-)

26...feeling a little old

I experienced my first Australian birthday! Since I was away from home, Jimmy tried to make my day really special. The night before he made me a cake... He also gave me my first card. We were brushing teeth and changing into pj's and there was a card set out for me. I didn't open it right away because I never open anything until my actual birthday but he insisted that I open it. I soon found out that it wasn't a birthday card. Basically he got me a card because I haven't received any in the mail and was a little upset. The next morning, he brought me up a cupcake with a candle and some strawberries and sang happy birthday. I mentioned that my dad used to leave something in my room on my birthday so he filled in. I then got up and opened some presents... Jimmy got me some Ugg boots and a gift certificate to get pampered at a spa for 3 hours! Jimmy's family got me some drinking chocolate with a cute little mug to go along with it, and the beautiful coach purse and wallet is from my mom and dad. Jimmy then had a great idea to do cake early for morning tea so I could see my parents over skype and they could sing with Jimmy. The cake was delicious! Later on that night we met some friends for dinner at a place called Mama Mex. It was a Mexican and Italian food place...weird combination but the food was great! We then went home and had some more cake! Overall it was a great birthday and it's all thanks to my guy...

Wedding

Jimmy's friend Jimmy got married a couple of weeks ago and it was a great time. The way they do ceremonies and receptions here is they have the ceremony and sign the marriage certificate right at the alter after the ceremony. They then have a three hour break or so for pictures and the reception is back at the same place a while after. After the ceremony, Jimmy, myself, and a few friends went to the pub down the street and then went back for the reception. It was a good night. I got to spend some time with his friends (Jimmy and I were the only couple at the single guys table). After about an hour or so, our table got in a little trouble. It started with Jimmy thinking it was a good idea to empty out the center piece and fill it with wine to drink out of... It progressed with our new roommate, Murray, pouring the entire bottle of red in there and drinking the whole glass in one drink. If it makes any difference the groom told him to... It ended with our table getting cut off of alcohol, except for two people :) Jimmy and myself continued to get glasses of wine...little did they know...Jimmy started the whole thing. Overall it was a great night. We ended up getting home at 1:30 and thought it would be a good idea to call my mom and have a conversation. Fun times huh mom?

No more job

My last day at Hunter Water was on Friday. It is really funny because I was supposed to end a week earlier. On that day, I was taken out to lunch, given a couple of gifts, and they even had afternoon tea for me with cake and a delicious cheese ball with crackers. I was a great time. At about 15 minutes before I left, I got called into my bosses office and she asked me if I wanted to come back on Monday. I said yes of course and came back on Monday. Monday became Tuesday. Tuesday became Wednesday and so on. On Friday I completed the job and left Hunter Water. My boss is still trying to employ me for 6 months when I get back from the States. Fingers crossed everyone!

Easter Show

On Easter Sunday (I know it was quite some time ago), Jimmy took me to Sydney and we met up with a couple of friends at what is called the Easter Show. We got there at 12pm and didn't leave until about 10pm that night. It is basically a big carnival with many things attached to it. We went all saw: wood chopping, stables, Rodeo, motocross, sheep getting shaved (I think it's called shawling...don't hold me to that) and many more. It was really fun! At the end of the day, we went to go get our "show bags" and what that means is a big room filled with goody bags of all types. I ended up getting a snickers bag, skittles bag, marie claire bag, and a pipeline bag. Good fun.

Hunter Water

My temp job at Hunter Water is coming to an end this week. I have been there a little over two months so I shouldn't be complaining. We will see what happens. I went to work today and they said, "see you tomorrow," so I guess I'm going back at least another day. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I will get to stay the rest of the week!

Tears in the eyes

On Friday morning Jimmy and I both get up to go for a run before work. The difference is he goes for a long run and I go for less than half of his run (we usually meet at the end). Last Friday was different though...I decided since I had the day off because of the public holiday I was going to go with him because I could have easily made an excuse not to go. Anyways, the alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. and we both got dressed and headed outside. He looks at me and says, "It is sprinkling a bit." A perfect excuse not to go...but we went anyways. We starting running, not being able to see anything but just ahead of you because it was pitch black outside. As we are on our run I start thinking to myself, who in their right mind goes for a run at stupid o'clock in the morning? Jimmy does...and now me! Idiots. That's besides the fact. We get to about half way through and start running up this hill, still half way asleep I'm not picking up my feet very well as I'm running. Knowing that the sidewalks here aren't always level, I should have known. Now you all know what to expect next right? Jimmy is in front, me following, and all of a sudden I catch my foot on the sidewalk and my body is literally thrown forward like I'm sliding into home base (mind you..on concrete). I sit up from laying face down on the ground and start crying automatically. Jimmy turns around and comes to assist my clumsy butt and asks if I'm alright. I stand up fast and say, "Let's just keep running." He's like, ok. We keep going for another 4 1/2 Kilometers or so and then we get home. The good thing about this fall is that through this (in American terms)4 1/2 + mile run (props to me!), I wasn't thinking about whether my knees were hurting or not because my entire left side of my body was stinging. I was able to see the damage after we got back....open skin on the hand, strawberry on the arm, scrape on the hip, and scrape on the knee. I did a good job. I took some pics so you can see how clumsy I really am...

Bondi Beach

Jimmy suggested over the weekend that I come with him to Bondi for the day on Sunday and walk around the shops and such while he is in his conference. I did just that. He asked me as we were getting out of the car if I needed any shopping money. I almost had a heart attack when I heard that. I was great and all, but I declined. He after all is providing everything for me at the moment and letting me stay at his house. I think that I can pay for my own clothes. Anyways, I really wasn't planning on buying anything, but I failed. I went to breakfast by myself...which I'll be honest...didn't like doing but you gotta eat sometime. After breakfast, the first store that I walk in has a buy one get one free deal on everything in the store. I did actually try to find Jimmy a pair of shorts (32 now instead of 34...damn triathlons), but there wasn't anything good in that size. So, I ended up buying two pairs of shorts. Very cute. After that I shopped around a bit more but had a lot of time to kill. I ended up going to a bathing suit store where I got a suit for $30! Now I just needed a towel and sunscreen. When I was all set I made my way on the beach and while I was looking for a spot I look over to the right and all I see is BOOBS. I had to triple take, but sure enough this girl was completely topless. She was acting like it was so normal. I texted Jimmy and asked him what the deal was and he told me that is normal at Bondi Beach. It apparently is the beach to be seen at. The entire time I was at the beach I didn't hear one Australian accent which was weird to me. When I left I saw two more girls with their boyfriends and the guys were helping the girls take off their tops! I know what you are thinking and no I didn't join in and go topless. How awkward! It was a different world that's for sure!