Holidays Exhaust on....

It has come and gone, Christmas of 2008 is nearly over. As usual, I found myself a little sad this afternoon with all the excitement winding down. 

This morning Brett woke me to our 6 year old neighbors shouting at 6 AM , "Santa has come, Santa has come!!" and him shaking me saying, "Let's go open presents!" So presents we opened!

After the gifts were unwrapped and it was entirely decided that Margaret is very spoiled by those who love her, we made our way up to "Bretty's mum's," in Alstonville where we dined on a delicious Macadamia nut Ham alongside quiche and mimosas! And more gifts....

When the morning indulgences were completed we quickly returned to Lennox Head to put our "swimmers" on for an afternoon on the river with Cherie, Brett's "mum" and Dave, her partner. 

Christmas day being a festive one complimented our spirits by granting us fisherman's luck and us actually catching several Taylor, tiny little fish, one of which nearly bit off Cherie's thumb! As things go,the fishing worked up an appetite urging us to set up camp on the beach where we dined on oysters, prawns, and cheese.... yum... And a bit of scurfing - a fusion of surfing and water skiing. Brett unfortunately snapped his board in half cutting the adventure a little short.

All up it has been a great Christmas here in Australia Land. Outside of missing family and friends and all the Tennessee fun, I have very much so been enjoying my day on the water and other Christmas excitements. 

Tomorrow we are continuing on with the celebrations down the coast in Arrawara with Brett's dad and stepmom. I will keep you blog followers posted with more tales from the OUTBACK!

With love on Christmas..... 

 

Tis the Season!

To go ahead and answer the question, yes, Aussies do celebrate Christmas, but no, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving. I however did! The third Thursday of November I rushed home from work to slave over a hot stove.... No, not really, but between the five of us, we had a nice little feast! Although not entirely traditional, and not nearly as tasty as what I would have eaten at home, it was sufficient and lots of fun!  It was a beautiful fusion of Australian Asian, American and southern cuisine. 

Now in terms of Christmas, indeed it is celebrated! In fact, Christmas carols overwhelm the malls, pictures are taken with Santa, and although it is summer, Aussies celebrate in similar spirit rather in boardshorts and bikins instead of sweaters and scarves. The challenge this holiday season for me is being far from family and friends. I however am looking forward to sunshine, seafood, and a day at the beach. Tis' the life I lead in Lennox Head! Happy Crissy! lots and lots of love and holiday cheer ...

Giddy UP!

Not so long ago, with boyfriend in Indonesia surfing, I ventured to Brisbane, the BIG city with Shelly for a girls day out where we met up with some of her close friends from home.

The day began with a beautiful brunch, champagne, and several hours at the races. Apparently, horses are very Australian as is gambling and "piss" aka "grog" aka alcohol. What is that saying, "when in Rome do as the Romans do..." so this I did! AND managed to lose a few bucks on some horses I chose for their pretty names. Lesson learned. It was a great break from the small town, but entirely exhausting and seriously took me nearly a week to recover.

The Rainbow Region

The land of pristine coastline, lush rainforest, cattle farms, and sugarcane fields is the area I am now calling home. Lennox Head is little more than a surf village with sidewalk cafes and a famous right-hand break where there is a constant mix of locals and holiday makers playing, partying, and relaxing. I am caught between two worlds myself as I spend mornings at the beach and the afternoon at work, evenings cooking and the next day doing it all over again. Lennox Head is just one of the many interesting and contrasting spots of this region.

A couple of weeks ago while Katherine and her cousin, Scott were in town we ventured to a very famous little spot, Nimbin. Once upon a time Nimbin was actually a sleepy dairy town and then... in 1973 the Aquarius festival was held there! University students and other hippie folk gathered in the small town and never seemed to leave. Since, it has been known as an extremely liberal community of communes and pot smoking hippies. Although the cultivation, buying, and selling of cannabis is illegal in New South Whales, Nimbin maintains an open spirit about it all and you can actually buy it on the streets. Outside of the novelty of being able to buy such merchandise without so much as a batted eye, it is located in a magical place. Nimbin is nestled amongst mountains of sorts in an area sacred to the local Aboriginals, the Bundjalung people. If feeling ambitious (which I haven't yet felt) there is Mt. Warning which can be climbed as well as all sorts of other treks and rural Aussie adventures to get into. Nimbin exists in its own harmony where environmentalist, artist, and musicians live amongst the enchanting nature that is just one village of the Rainbow Region.

Update from Lennox Head

I have proven to be very lax in updating my blog and the truth of it is, I was hoping to update with exciting news of employment! Unfortunately, I have no such news. At the moment, I am back where I was last year at Optus, the telecommunications company. I have been reminding myself to be thankful for at least a few hours a week to help pay rent, but am a bit disappointed in all honestly. I am trying ever so hard to stay optimistic, but it seems that the U.S. economy has in fact effected Australia's economy and everything seems to be slowing down. Job applications resemble college essays which is a full time job in itself. Positions open and close with no reason leaving me without work and frustrated. I am brainstorming plans B, C, D, and F and promise to keep you all posted on that.

Meanwhile I have been cooking.... lots. Our veggie patch is out of control producing lettuce for salads every night, herbs, and all other sorts of random greens. I enjoyed a 10 day visit from a friend from high school where we adventured around, drank lots of coffee, and enjoyed the beach. BBQs are a regular weekend occurrence and Brett and I are getting used to each other all over again :)

And then there was the election. OBAMA! It was a very exciting evening over here and has been a major topic of conversation. Nearly everything I hear from the Aussies and Europeans is optimistic and positive which certainly is a refreshing change. Lets' keep our fingers crossed and HOPE for CHANGE.

Here I am!

Just under a week and nearly a home? Well, not just yet, but we certainly are working on it! Brett and I have wasted no time in shopping, buying such purchases as a couch, kitchen table, dishes, and a car! As Josh put it, we are doing our best to support the Aussie economy. To our left is my biggest purchase, a 97' Mitsubishi Mirage I bought off my friend Shelly. Unfortunately, after attempting to get a "blue slip" today for its registration, I was informed that the little red zoom, zoom needs a new muffler. BUMMER! Oh well, still a thrifty purchase and thankfully nothing else was found wrong. Mr. Mechanic explained to me that if I failed to replace the muffler, not only would I be unable to get it registered, but I may also pass out from the exhaust fumes. Imagine that! No worries, we are on it! Other than that, all is well in sunny Australia. The sun seems to shine most days and the rain seems to pour most nights. We have a thriving "veggie patch" in the backyard and pet tiger worms who live off our compost. I am still unemployed, but have my fingers crossed for one or two potentials. I am struggling a little with homesickness, but with time that will fade.

One day and counting....

Most of the "goodbyes" have been made. My bags are nearly packed and I am ready to... go? For the most part I am excited, but I too am finding myself a bit sad. Although I know Lennox, although I know people where I am going, it is always difficult to leave home. I recently realized that the 9 months I spent here in Nashville is the most time I have spent anywhere since 2004! Progress is being made! My routine, my family, my friends, my car, my job, MY LIFE! Soon I will have a reinvented one over that way, but until then, I will bounce back-and-forth between feelings of excitement and anxiety. Until Australia....