Beauty and the Beast

Beauty=view of last night's sunset from our balcony...

Beast=jellyfish found on the beach while walking the neighbor's dog this morning...

Have a good day!

American Food Store Suggestions

There's a new little store on Carlisle Street in St Kilda, and it stocks American products at a discounted price. They're just starting out, so right now they just have lots of soda (hooray for Dr. Pepper!), Pop Tarts (at $10 a box-I don't miss them that much), and some candy and spices, but they're open to suggestions on other items they should carry. I made them a list, and I thought you readers might find it interesting. These are all things that we can't get easily (or sometimes at all) in Australia, and for one reason or another, I've missed them at some point. I was excited about finding the canned pumpkin pictured to the left ($10 for a large can) last month at David Jones, which is a department store with a specialty food shop on the bottom floor. I do love my pumpkin desserts! Here's hoping that this new store takes some of my suggestions and prices them affordably...




Suggested American Items:

Canned pumpkin

Canned black beans

Fritos corn chips

Cheetos

Graham crackers

Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce

Cereals (Life, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Quaker Oat Squares, Corn Pops, etc.)

Wheat Thins

Chips Ahoy soft bake cookies

Funyuns (Zack likes these-not me)

Peanut butter M&Ms

Twizzlers

Marshmallows

Cornmeal or cornbread mix

Chili seasoning packet

Pot roast seasoning packet

Bisquick

Crisco

Malt O Meal

Maple syrup

Dove or Secret solid stick deodorant

Velveeta shells and cheese

Rebels Playing Rugby

On Saturday night, we met up with Kristy and Nigel at AAMI Park to watch a rugby game. The Melbourne Rebels played the Crusaders from New Zealand, and they won 28-19! I guess this was a big deal, because the Crusaders were heavily favored. Zack and I had been to one rugby game back in Denver (the Glendale Raptors were the national champions), but we didn't really understand the game. So it was good to have an Australian (Kristy) and a Brit (Nigel) with us this time to explain the rules to us.

AAMI Park is a neat venue. From the outside, it looks like a bunch of joined golf balls with lights. Inside, it is smaller than expected, and with general admission seats, we were able to sit pretty close to the action. It was a cold night, so we bundled up to stay warm. Note the hat and scarf I am wearing. I made (knit) those all by myself! Go ahead and feel free to be impressed now. :)






I was surprised that the game was over so quickly. There were two forty minute halves, and the clock never stopped (other than at halftime). I'm used to American football with tons of breaks and four long quarters! It was also interesting to realize once again that Australian sporting events do not have cheerleaders. In America, there is no way that you'd go to a game like this and not have hot girls in skimpy clothes on the sidelines shaking their butts to dance music at every pause and break in the action. In fact, the entire focus in Australia is truly on the game. There are no flashy lights, fireworks, songs being blasted through the loudspeakers, organized cheers, etc. In some ways, this is good (you end up actually watching the game!), but the American part of me can get a bit bored with no distractions to keep me entertained. I'm cool with no cheerleaders though (no offense to any cheerleaders intended!). I'm not sure we'll become hardcore rugby fans, but it was a fun way to spend a chilly fall evening with friends.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Pam, the winner of our One Year Australia-versary Contest! I wrote down everyone's name on little pieces of paper and drew one randomly from a bowl just a few minutes ago. Pam, please send me a message with your address, and an Australian prize pack will be headed your way in the near future. Thanks to everyone who entered our contest; it was fun to "meet" some of my closet readers and hear from friends and family.

Sorry I've been slacking on the blog lately...I've had a busy week of work. But I'm off today, so I hope to get a few posts lined up for next week. Here's a sunrise picture I took the other morning from our balcony that you can admire while waiting for other posts. Sometimes there is something good about getting up early!

Good morning Australia!

Cinco de Mayo Mango Margarita

Happy Cinco de Mayo! No, Australians do not celebrate this holiday, but we did, perhaps a little bit too much (note the size of the margarita above!). Zack had to work, so I joined him in Traralgon for the weekend, and we ate at the only Mexican restaurant in town last night. Then we hit up the Star Bar, which is where Zack's work colleagues do karaoke on Wednesday nights when they're in town. A late-night cheese pizza hit the spot before we crashed in bed. We headed back to Melbourne on the train this morning, and Zack went straight to work again-no bueno! 

P.S. Last chance to enter the contest!

Girls' Night Out

Sheena, Alena, and me at Naked for Satan

Kelly, Kristy, Emily, and Maggie toast to Girls' Night

On the Tuesday night before everyone had Wednesday off of work for ANZAC Day, all of the girls from our Tough Mudder Team AUSsome reunited for a girls' night out. We met up at Naked for Satan, which is a cool bar in the suburb of Fitzroy on Brunswick Street. They have yummy flavored vodkas and fun food. You pick from an array of little tapas, and you save the toothpick found in each one. At the end of the night, you pay $1 per toothpick ($2 on the weekends). It's a good deal, and you get to try all sorts of things. We hung out here until the place shut down at around midnight.

It's true-blondes have more fun!

Then we headed to a different bar for some dancing. The DJ played great music, and we had an awesome time getting our groove on. One of my favorite moments was when the Americans (Emily, Alena, and I) requested Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," and then we went crazy when it played! We shut this place down too and then headed home. I definitely haven't been out past 2am in a very long time, and I took a much needed nap the next day. But it was worth it. Girls' night out was a blast, and we hope to do another one soon!

P.S. It's not too late to enter our contest!

The Wrong Thong

Zack is in Sydney this week for work and sent me the picture above last night. Apparently you can buy thongs from a vending machine! Yes, flip flops are called thongs here. Very strange. Anyway, Havaianas are a very popular brand here in Australia. Nearly everyone has a pair of Havaiana thongs and wears them all summer long. They come in all sorts of colors and designs. Yes, we have some too. Zack's were featured earlier in a Perth post. Mine are pictured to the left!

It's not too late to enter our Australia-versary blog contest. You have a few more days to answer the easy questions for the chance at a fabulous prize (maybe a pair of Havaianas?!). So get your comments posted!