Mix & Match or ala Carte

Day 1 of my new Physical Fitness regimen and after a terrific workout I believe I've figured out the solution to life's problems:

Wine, Anti-depressants, Exercise --

Put them in whatever order you choose.....

Back in the saddle

OK, so Ben and I will be 40 years old this year....I know, I know, most of you thought "Wow, they are such a hip, young couple they couldn't possibly be older than 29...".

Well, sorry to shatter the dream but in honor of our "milestone" we've decided to celebrate the relentless coming of middle age.

So Great Barrier Reef here we come...

Details to follow when we head out in July.....

Vent

I want to go home.

I miss my family, my friends and my life back there. I don't want to "experience" and "enjoy the adventure" anymore. I want to hold my nieces.

There I said it. Now it's off my chest and I can continue on.

OK I'm going shopping.

God Save the Queen

Now that we are getting settled into Melbourne and Kaia is back at school full-time, I have been able to start exploring this wonderful city we are so lucky to live in.

So Ben was running late for work the other day and I ended up driving him to his office. Since I was downtown sans husband and child, I decided to visit the infamous Queen Victoria Market. After navigating my way there I roamed around for a full three hours taking in the sights and sounds of the QVM. I don't believe there is anything like it in the States. The market is open every day but Mondays and Wednesdays. I can only describe it as a farmer's, "got it off the back of a van", art fair and supermarket on steroids. There is something for everyone here. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, olive oil, coffees and wines are just the beginning --- butchers, fishmongers, delicatessens offering meats, cheeses, olives and the like. Several bakers offer cupcakes to fresh sourdough loves and croissants. It's a foodies heaven. The stall owners shout their prices to the public and it gets more frantic as the hours pass on because they want to get rid of their merchandise.

And if you don't want to shop for food, there are aisles and aisles of clothing, coats, shoes, jewelry, souvenirs, housewares and your odds-n-ends like soaps, candles and mirrored pictures of Andy Garcia or Tony Soprano. There are even animals and a pet shop. If you want to try on clothes, a stall owner will happily hold up a curtain for you for "privacy". Shoes? Sit on a folding chair and if they've got it in their truck they'll be happy to talk over a price with you.

I got a fabulous pair of boots for only $99 (which is a deal in Australia)!

The only thing the Queen Vic Market is missing is the fabulousness of the Kane County Flea Market. The Flea will always be one of my all-time favorites --- not because of their wares, but because of the fantastic company I keep on those trips.

You know who you are....

The Onion Makes Me Laugh Until I Cry

One of the things I was missing from the States was Ben bringing home a copy of the latest Onion - an opinionated newspaper with a fairly irreverent look at life, politics, sports and just about everything in between.

Thanks to my little sister Colleen for alerting me to the fact that the Onion is online! Now I get to enjoy a laugh every now and then with my "flat white". This is what I found today - enjoy~

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/77294

What are ya aftah?

I've been gathering little tidbits of Aussie words and sayings to share with my readers. So here's a sample of what Australian words/lingo versus what Americans say:

Rock Melon = Cantaulope
Good On Ya = Congratulations
What's On = What's Happening (like on a weekend or evening)
Diary = Calendar
Fairy Floss = Cotton Candy
Lolly = any type of candy
Breky = Breakfast

And my personal favorites:
Having a yak = having a chat
Bloody Hell = insert your favorite swear word here.

Road Trip!

Feeling extremely comfortable behind the wheel, Ben, Kaia and I headed to Phillip Island this week for a much-needed holiday. The island is a 90 minute drive southeast of Melbourne and is well-known for its famous "Penguin Parade". You can purchase tickets to enjoy the experience. The parade happens every evening after dusk when the world’s smallest penguins, the Little Penguins, emerge from the sea after a day of fishing and waddle ashore to their sand dune burrows. We weren't really sure what to think until we actually saw the penguins....so CUTE and all fat and happy waddling up the shore. There were hundreds and hundreds all coming up from the waves and as they were shaking the water off their feathers you can hear the penguin babies calling for them. We were able to watch the penguins walk up the shore towards the burrows - they stop every now and then to listen for their baby. The ranger said that some penguins have walked all the way to the parking lot which was a good mile away! We were instructed to look under our cars for any stray penguins and inform a ranger so they could scoop them up before anything unfortunate happened.

An amazing experience.

We also visited the Phillip Island Wildlife Center and were able to hand-feed the kangaroos, wallabies and emus. Kaia LOVED it. The roos were extremely gentle -- the wallabies a bit more pushy (they wanted to get at the food) and the emus were definitely the bullies of the bunch. We just puffed ourselves up to make ourselves look bigger and they left us alone. Ben took that pic of the koala - isn't it ADORABLE?

During our two-night stay there was a windstorm raging across Melbourne with gale-force winds. Phillip Island was hit as well and the island power went out at 2pm and was not restored until 9pm that evening. Afternoon naps were taken by all as there was not much else to do. Tons of trees and huge branches came down but luckily no one was injured.

Kaia's next term break in late June so we are planning to go somewhere warm since it's going to be WINTER here.

How weird is that? Winter in July??