The 12 Days of Christmas

My family has a tradition of opening 12 small presents on each of the days leading up to Christmas.  Accompanying each gift, we sing the appropriate parts of the popular holiday song, "The 12 Days of Christmas."  This year, my mom sent Brett 12 gifts along with mine and we have been opening the gifts and singing together every morning.  It took him until Day 3 to tell me that there was an Aussie version of this song!  Anyway, I am in love with this and am now going to have us sing both versions before we open our gifts every year.  For the benefit of my family reading this (Brett says it is not worth typing in the American version since his family will know it), here is the Aussie 12 Days of Christmas lyrics:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me an emu up a gum tree
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two pink galahs
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three kookaburras laughing
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four lyrebirds
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five kang-a-roos
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six broglas laying
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven koalas climbing
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight dingos dancing
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine croc's a snoozing
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten wombats washing
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven lizards leaping
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve possums playing

Happy Birthday Dad!

In honor of Dad's (Brian's) birthday, Brett decided the best gift would be a picture of himself (and me, and the rest of the Penn State gang who went to Luis and Amanda's wedding). I just think it is great that y'all will be able to see him all dressed up in a nice shirt (non-black) and tie! 

Happy Birthday Dad! ~Brett (and April)



(from left) Patrick and Blair, Brett and April, Rebekah and Tim



Blue Heelers and Orange Juice

To celebrate our return from Australia I have started downloading old Blue Heelers (an Australian cop drama that started in 1994) episodes to show April. While we were there I had wanted to show her some good Australian TV shows, but our choices were somewhat limited by the fact that they do not really make good Australian TV shows anymore. So I decided to go back to the classic shows and I thought Blue Heelers would be an excellent place to start.

April thinks the show is great, especially since 1) she loves "cop shows" and 2) she now understands so many of the references and landmarks of the show after having been to Australia and having seen small town country life (Australian style) for herself. One of my regrets is that I did not get to take her in to an authentic small town pub while we were there; we only went to fancier pubs. Watching Blue Heelers also helps explain my overuse of the word 'bloody' although I don't use the word 'bum' anywhere near as much as they do!

The other aspect of Australian culture it helps explains is my constant consumption of orange juice. In America it seems to be something you will have at breakfast but not really an all day drink. On the show they are always drinking it (along with multiple cuppas), so it is apparently an Australian thing and not just a Brett thing.

In addition to Blue Heelers, I've been paying close attention to the Tour de France, though I have to miss the ending tomorrow because of a meeting with a faculty member.  April doesn't quite understand my obsession with cycling, but she is willing to listen to me ramble on and on about the finer details of the sport and the daily race update regardless.

Finally, to Lyn and Brian a.k.a. Mom and Dad (and to a lesser extent Kira):  We want to thank you for all the effort both of you put in while we were there. Although we were in and out quite quickly sometimes and exhausted at others, there is no way the holiday would have gone as well without all of your help!

Countdown to Brett! :-)

Princess has a new friend.

Still trying to get over the jet-lag of returning home (for example, my day/night sleeping is still a bit off) which is not so fun now that I'm teaching.  My first day didn't go so hot, but hoping that tomorrow goes better. 

Unpacking is a secondary priority, but this little guy was not going to spend one more night in the suitcase.  After cuddling with Princess for a minute, he is now safely sitting on my desk cheering me on while I work and waiting for Brett to come home. We miss everybody in Australia so much already!

Made it!!!

We are both safely in the land down under! Next on the agenda....... SLEEP!!

How long is that airplane ride again???

I was asking Brett yesterday if he had any ideas for what he would like to do while we were on all those flights (some short, some super-long) to Australia.  Well, unfortunately he didn't have that many ideas since he hasn't traveled with anybody on such a long trip before.  We talked about maybe a couple of crossword or suduko puzzles, or maybe pick a book that we both would like to read so we could discuss it.  Plus we have a South Australia travel guide that I know I want to go through together.  But, for those of you who have gone on long trips with your significant other, we are looking for ideas!! :-)

One thing I wanted to make sure that we did before leaving was get Brett some sort of travel pillow.  He is always so uncomfortable on airplanes and has never been able to sleep on them.  We've been looking for a while in stores and online and he picked this one (except his is plain navy!).


Hopefully it will help his neck and back pain and let him get some much needed rest on the plane.

Our list of demands

As you probably know, rock stars get to specify a 'rider' when they are making an appearance somewhere. This makes sure they get everything they want and are treated like the stars they are. As April and I are even more important than rock stars, I figured we should get our own list up. I may add things to this as I think of them, so check back often, otherwise next time our vacation will be to New Zealand instead!

1) Tomato paste (the non-exploding kind)
2) Ketchup (For April, not because I have gotten to like it instead of tomato sauce..............)
3) Schweppes traditional creaming soda
4) Diet lemonade (the Australian lemonade or lemon lime soda for our international readers)
5) Tomato paste
6) Barbeque Shapes
7) Light and tangy chips
8) Tomato paste
9) the apple juice I like
10) Golden North honey ice cream
11) Kangaroo
12) Tomato paste
13) Nippy's Orange juice
14) Fruit loops
15) Barbeque fixin's for our first night (As April just called them in her incredibly cute accent - Sausages, burgers, chops, enough potatoes to feed a small army, potato salad - Oh, and make sure they are good butcher sausages and not from Coles)
16) Mayonnaise (actual mayonnaise like Hellmans, not the Heinz salad cream)
17) BACON!!!!!!!!!!!
18) Fritz
19) Chicken and ham for sandwiches
20) Twisties
21) Cheese slices (low fat, American cheese if they have it)
22) Boysenberry ice cream
23) Carton of Coopers Sparkling Ale
24) A non-flat Pavlova for our first night
25) Warm blankets and lots of pillows
*26) Balfours pasties and sausage rolls
*27) Oil free sunscreen  

Additionally we have a list of things you must remove from the house:
1) Vegemite
2) Kira
3) Wheat bix (I have scared April with tales of soggy wheat bix)
4) Instant coffee
5) Mom's cooking
6) The cold
*7) Exploding tomato paste and any remnants from such explosions

Good news and bad news

The good news is that I was awarded the Quassi Pre-doctoral assistantship yesterday. I get paid the same as a normal assistantship (I think) and I will probably lose my great office, but it will give me a lot more freedom to work on my own stuff next year and I won't have obligations to any faculty members. It is also a competitive position so it will look great when I am on the job market. So I am very very happy about that.


The bad news is that I got all my immigration papers in order so I will be coming back to the States after my trip home. Sorry about that.

18 days to takeoff...

So, my dissertation proposal is due today.  Brett has been a lifesaver the past week going above and beyond the call of duty helping me.  I am still sick (seriously, am I ever going to be well again??), so it's a struggle to just keep moving and to try my best to meet the deadline (it is for turning it in to my advisor so he can give me feedback before it is sent to my committee prior to the oral defense on June 10th). 

I know that once I finish it though I will be SO ready for a break. Of course, I don't get one.  I immediately have to finish all my cramming for sitting for my comprehensive exams this Thursay and Friday.  But in 96 hours, we might be able to get a bit of a breath.  Just until I start stressing about how to prep best for my oral defense of the proposal and my comps answers.

In other, happier, news.  We have exactly 18 days until we get on a plane bound for the land down under.  I am super excited.  I was hoping to get some shopping and stuff done before we go, but at this rate, I think I'll be satisfied with just getting on the plane in one piece. 

P.S.--> So, Brett tells me this week about the immigration paperwork that needs to be filled out for him to be allowed back in the country after visiting home.  I PROMISE to make sure this happens...(though from what he tells me, Lyn wouldn't be that disappointed if there was a mix-up and he had to stay in Australia a few extra weeks/months). :-)

I'm famous!

My professor forwarded me a news story about our article that we got published:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/unemployment-up-divorce-down_n_857503.html

It actually mirrors our article quite well, which is not always the case when the media reports on academic research. And it's only in an on-line newspaper, but that is more attention than I thought it would get!

Done with Classes!!!

Officially done with classes!!! I just handed up my last assignment and I am now due for some much needed relaxation.

In lieu of a proper post (and in honour of mother's day), here is an article about how Australia is the second best place in the world to be a mum:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/04/3207010.htm

Kangaroo Island Days (fun details)

So what do you do when it is 2:30am and you still have 1/2 your grading left and 12 hours to go and feel like crying?  You go and look at all the pretty pictures of Australia as inspiration to keep going. 
Just over a month left before our trip.  I'm looking forward to it all, but esp. the Kangaroo Island Days.  Maybe because Brett has talked it up so much.

*Map of KI

We are staying at Waves and Wildlife Cottages: "The cottages are set on 80 acres behind the cliff directly surrounding Stokes Bay Beach with no roads in between. Much of the property remains natural bush land which is home to large mobs of the Kangaroo Island Kangaroo which graze around the cottages every evening. At the beach penguins, dolphin pods pass by and occasionally we spot a seal or two."   Not sure how much of this is true in Aussie Winter. 

But I bet the views really are this beautiful year round...



A.B.D. or Bust (but Australia one way or the other!)

So, it looks like I have my dates (almost) finalized for my written comprehensive exam and my oral defense of said writtens and my dissertation proposal.  I will spend two whole days in a tiny room writing like crazy during the week of May 23rd, and then four hours talking circles around said answers and my proposal sometime between Jun 6-9.  About the only thing keeping me going at this point is knowing that once I finish those hurdles, I will officially get to be A.B.D. (all but dissertation) and more importantly I will be just hours away from hopping a plane to head to Australia. :-) 

Doctors, Cooking, and Weight

So, while my day has been less than productive, I am very happy to say that I did the near-impossible--I got Brett to go to the doctor!!  After being sick for over a week, I was glad that he was able to get some professional help.  The doctor wasn't able to give a ton of advice, but did say that we need to change Brett's diet to what doctors call a "bland diet".  For a foodie like him, this was probably worse than a death sentence!  But, we are taking the news in stride and doing our best to figure out the new food requirements (though I had to keep reminding him to focus on what he CAN eat and not on the CAN'T eat side of the list.) Considering I want to lose weight too (so I look better in all those awesome Australia pics!), being so conscious about what we're putting in our bodies can't hurt.  Hopefully it will settle Brett's stomach issues enough that he can be taken off the bland diet before our trip (esp. since tomatos are a no-no and he would be miserable to be home and still not get that yummy tomato paste he craves and raves about!). 

April's Visa

My visa has been approved!  Apparently Australia is willing to let me in!  What were they thinking? ;-)

 ~April


 

Penguin Parade

Brett and I were going through the South Australia visitors guidebook today and there was a mention of a "Parade of Penguins" listed under Must-Do's.  I LOVE the idea of a penguin parade and am imagining little penguins marching in step to a candence with some very talented little penguin baton twirler leading the line.  Probably not what actually happens, but until I am proven wrong, that's what I'm hoping for. :-)

Bloody Snow

I have been meaning to write a post on snow for the past week or so; specifically addressing a lie that my mum used to tell me. She used to always tell me that when she was a kid, she used to have to walk 5 miles through 6 inches of snow to get to school each day. It took me until I was around 9-10 years old that I realised that although my mum is really old, she probably wasn't around in the last ice age, which would have been the only way that my home town would even come close to getting snow. So, in the spirit of showing her what it is really like to try to get to school in the snow, I thought I would recount my morning.

Yesterday the day started off with steady rain and the forecast was for rain all day. Around 3pm however the rain turned to snow and a fairly serious sort of snow at that. I was staying at April's house and by the time we went to bed it was still snowing and there was at least 4 inches of snow on the ground. This morning I needed to head into the office, so that meant extracting my car (I also decided to de-snow April's car and move it to the other side of the street for her). The de-snowing of the cars probably took me 10 mins or so, which is fairly average for a snowing morning here, so that wasn't too bad. If you remember the road on which April lives, it is quite steep and the way the cars are parked means that I had to drive in reverse up the hill to get out of our parking spots. I moved April's car first and, due to the wonders of 4 wheel drive, did not have the slightest problem. I was able to back straight out, drive around the block and park her car nice and close to her building.

Therefore, with wildly misplaced confidence, I jumped into my car and attempted to back out. I engage the car in reverse, slowly take the clutch out and attempt to back out. The first thing that happens is my front wheels begin to spin (I, unlike April, only have front wheel drive) and the front of the car slips three feet down the hill. This has two consequences, first it causes me to swear, a lot. The second is that it means that my car is now parked at a really odd angle and taking up two parking spots, which means I cannot just leave it there and retreat back to April's place and stay there for the day. I have to move my car. Bugger. Luckily there is no-one parked that close to me, so my 3 foot lurch did not end up with me in the side of someone's car. So there is that, but I am still stuck with a car that only wants to go down the hill sideways rather than up it in an orderly fashion.

I would attempt to describe how difficult it is to try and do a reverse hill start with a manual transmission and 4 inches of snow under your tyres, but it is really one of those things that cannot be captured in words. If you do not have enough throttle you risk sliding forward into a snow bank, if you have to much your tyres spin and you go sideways down a hill.

Thus, I have only one option, to clear the snow out from under my tyres. With my wildly misplaced optimism still intact, I first try to do this with a combination of hands and kicking the snow away. After about 10 mins of this I admit defeat and decided I need actual tools to get this done. I decide to go check the little utility shed in April's building and 'borrow' the landlord's snow shovel. After about 15 mins of shoveling I finally manage to clear enough of the parking space for my car to make it to the plowed road ( I worked out that the trick was to clear the snow in a crescent shape, that way when the front of my car slipped, it would slip onto the road that I had cleared).

45 mins later, I was finally on the road, but I was so covered in snow that I had to stop home for a change of clothes first as mine were soaked by this stage. Thus, to my mum, I would like to say you have no idea how hard it is to drive 8 feet in four inches of snow. Give me 5 miles of walking in 6 inches of snow any day!

A, B, C, D... (A Weekend Roundup)

Brett and I got a lot done this weekend (I apologize in advance for typos, I'm enjoying our special wine from our trip to Texas!). Here, the ABC's of our weekend:

A= Anticipation. We logged on to Skype multiple times trying to get in touch with Brett's Mom, to no success. But, perhaps things always work out the way they are supposed to, because it wasn't until after all those attempts that Brett and I had a good long talk and realized that the dates of the trip home he was trying to confirm might not be the best anyway (at least not if he wants a cute Texan to accompany him).

A=Academics. We got a lot, well maybe not A LOT, but definitely enough, work done this weekend. Brett was a great help in trying to get me back on track and getting a few of my major projects done.

B=Bilbies. I learned the difference between a bunny and a bilby. Apparently in Australia, the Easter Bilby visits all the children instead of the Easter Bunny (they must be very distant cousins). So, Brett looked up this native Australian on Wikipedia and showed me a picture and put up with all my silly questions about bilbies. Brett and I have decided we want to dye Easter eggs this year. Wonder who will deliver them...will it be the Easter Bunny (since we're int he U.S.) or the Easter Bilby (who looks after all the Displaced Australians, big and small...)

C=Chores. I washed all of Brett's dishes today. And did his laundry. It was part of a deal where he edited some of my writing and I did his household work. But it still made me feel very domestic. :-)

D=Dexter. I introduced Brett to the TV show Dexter this weekend. Yes, it's about a serial killer who murders other serial killers while holding down a day job as a blood splatter analysis for the police department (it's sorta a cult classic among the CLJ department). Brett seems to like it. I'm glad that he is able to see that there is a big difference between his brand of social-awkwardness and the "I kill people for fun" variety. Of course, we started with Season 1 and they are about to start Season 7 in the fall, so we have a lot of catch-up to do.

Smile Removal

Brett and I had a long talk tonight about his upcoming trip to Australia. Apparently there was a bit of a miscommunication about my availability this summer. Now, with the knowledge that I might be able to join him, Brett thinks he needs the services of someone who specializes in smile removal. I think smiles are appropriate and will prevent him from paying anyone to take away that facial expression I love so much. So, watch out Australia, this is one Texan who's ready to see what you're all about!

Australia Day 2011

Australia Day is January 26th. Every year since the Displaced Australian moved here, he has hosted a great Australian-themed party to celebrate his homeland and try to educate us ethnocentric Americans about the wonders of the Land Down Under. This year, Australia Day celebrations were a week later than usual, but Brett's invitation was as original and tempting as ever:

Hi all,

In cased you missed it, yesterday was a day of great historical significance. Every January the 26th we celebrate the discovery of the world's largest prison, commonly know as Australia. In celebration of Australia Day I am inviting you all around for a traditional Australian celebration. You will get to enjoy such Australian treats as pasties (it is a food item for those of you with dirty minds and incorrect pronunciations), sausage rolls, kangaroo meat, lamingtons and I will also be gently placing some prawns in a skillet (as opposed to throwing shrimp on the barbie). As it got such rave reviews last year, vegemite will again be available for the curious, mentally ill and those with no taste buds. As usual, there will be authentic Australian beer and an all Australian wine list.

The celebrations will be at 4:30pm Saturday the 5th of February at my place. Both significant and insignificant others are very welcome. To help cover food and beverage costs, I am asking for a $5 donation, or as we are celebrating a nation of convicts, you can simply bring over an item of value and leave it unattended.


There were 8 (I think) R.S.V.P.'s for the event, and preparations had been underway for weeks when the weather decided to be a party pooper. We had an ice storm the night before and day of the party and ended up having to cancel. I can't begin to say how disappointed everyone was. :-(

The upside was that Brett did get a chance to make some of his favorite Australian foods, learned that lamingtons made with boxed cake mix work in a pinch, and he has kangaroo meat and Cooper's left to enjoy another day.

Since I'm not much of a cook and (while learning) am not yet an expert on Australia, my contributions to the day involved cleaning the apartment and preparing the decorations. Some will be able to be saved for next year's Australia Day Party, others Brett think he might just keep up year round, lol. :-)



This little kangaroo isn't so little. About three feet tall and 16 inches across, I hand painted her and made the word bubble sign. In the weeks since the party date, the balloon has deflated, so I'll be replacing it with a paper balloon. Note from April-Brett complained that the balloon looked menancing in the darkness, and I'm suspicious about the fact that it is just magically started deflating-we had it since December and it was fine. Did he secretly put a pinhole in it so it's darkened shape wouldn't keep him up at night???

First, the size...this cardboard cutout is the size of a door frame. It's made so you can put your face in the holes and get your picture taken looking like a "real" Australian. :-) It took me hours and hours to color this in (the material sucks up the marker ink so it takes multiple coats). I even ordered a special set of markers so our color palette would be perfect. It came out so well. I only regret that I didn't get a pic of us posing in it.

This painting was actually already on the wall. A gift from Brett's family on their visit to the States this year, the "Not Australia" sign was my festive addition.

My sister Angela found this Australia calendar and gave it to Brett for Christmas. He doesn't really use a calendar, but it never hurts to have one up (this month happened to be another kangaroo, but other pictures are quite beautiful!).

The one thing that's a guarantee after Australia Day is how much I find myself thinking "It must be great there." Why is Brett *here* again? ;-)

Freekibble.com

Everyday, the folks at freekibble.com (there's also a freekibblekat.com) pose a pet-related question. Website visitors guess the answer, and (right or wrong), every click helps provide pet food to animal shelters so pets in need have a little more kibble in their bowls tonight. :-) Today's question was about Australia.

On the island of Warmambool, off the coast of Australia, Two Italian Sheepdogs are being used to...

A. Catch fish
B. Protect the penguins
C. Guard the castle
D. Entertain the tourists

Do you know the answer...?

On Warmambool, two Sheepdogs, Eudy and Tula, are protecting a colony of Fairy Penguins (very small penguins) from foxes.

Eudy and a penguin chick

Milo and Wings

Today, I was having a fairly lazy day and, as often happens when I am giving myself a day off, my thoughts turn to cooking and what inventive things I can make myself for dinner. After surfing recipe sites for a while and not finding inspiration, I decided to go to Wegmans to find inspiration there. While there I decided to try and make buffalo chicken wings, a food I have crave when I want something hot and spicy. Of course, none that I can find are quite hot enough, so I was determined to make mine extremely hot. Unfortunately, they had no fresh habanero peppers (or chili in Australian), so I was searching in the spice isles for something really hot. While in the Latin section, I happened to find Milo tins!

After completing my shopping (and not finding anything that looked really hot) I went home with my newly purchased Milo and immediately made myself some. It was................. interesting. Apparently, they have regional versions of Milo and mine was the Colombian version. It was definitely Milo, but different enough that after one spoonful, I had to go check the package. So, like the many times I attempt to recreate things from the homeland, I came close enough to remind me just what I am missing!

Oh, and the wings come out fantastically! Not hot enough for my tastes, but I would definitely say they were better than I can get most places.

The Introductory Post

Since I am starting a blog, I may as well start it properly with an obligatory introductory post. However, since I have not written a blog before and those reading it either already know me or are lost in the internets, I am not sure what form this introduction should take. So, I will simply say, welcome to our blog and will quickly follow this post up with one of actual interest!