Piecake

Another "Last"

2008-05-07T13:31:00.004-05:00

Today is my last day for this work assignment and with my current employer. We pack the trailers tomorrow and start driving home on Friday. As usual, we will be taking the "long way home" and making a couple of stops for visiting along the way. Good stuff. Can't wait!

Just yesterday I found a new category of blogs that I had never even thought of... home and interior design blogs!

I started reading blogs while I was pregnant. I was searching for pregnancy pictures because I was thinking of having some done. I never found one that I loved (and never had any taken of myself), but I did find a bunch of mommy blogs. In the first few months it was great to read other new mom's stories and know that I wasn't "the only one". Then I found simple living blogs, general blogs about life, travel blogs, crafting blogs (TONS of crafting blogs), food blogs and now design blogs! When I get home I'll have to make a link list so you can see them too. The pictures are so inspiring. I am looking forward to getting back to my house and making it my home!

Cloud Gate & Other Sites

2008-04-30T15:06:00.019-05:00

Last Saturday morning we went to Chicago to do some touristy things. Thanks to some unused Metra train passes from my sister's visit, we didn't spend a dime.

Most of the morning was spent at Millennium Park. I love the Bean (the official name is Cloud Gate). It is so much cooler in person than in pictures. If you get under the center of the bean and look up, you are reflected multiple times - sort of like a fun house mirror.

This is the whole bean. I absolutely love the reflection of the city on the bean.

Our family reflected in the bean:

At the Crown Fountain, the faces were on and spitting. I suppose it could look like they are drinking rather than spitting. The official description uses the word "spouting". Whatever you want to call it, we saw it.

One of the faces:

The face "spouting": (just ignore the two heads of other spectators at the bottom of the photo)

While at the park we also checked out the Lurie Garden, walked by the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and walked over the BP Bridge to the Daley Bicentennial Plaza.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion - I want my lawn to be that green

At the plaza we stopped at a great playground for Sweetie and watched people get ready for their Segway Tour of the city. You'll notice that Sweetie is wearing the scarf that I knit! (Yes, it was that cold -scarves, hats, mittens and ear muffs were all worn.)

Bicentennial Park - If you look under a magnifier you might be able to see that the person in the picture is on a Segway

Just in case you aren't sure what a segway is, this picture is from the City Segway Tour website (obviously not taken the day we were there. Short sleeves - ha!)

After the playground, we walked along the Randolph Street side of Millennium Park by the bike rentals and the Millennium Monument. I had skipped that corner on the way into the park due to my excitement to see the Bean.

Millennium Monument:

I took a couple of pictures of the flowers in the road dividers on Michigan Ave for my sister. When she and I took a trolley tour in March, the driver mentioned how beautiful the street looks when everything is in bloom.

From the park we walked to Macy's (the former Marshall Fields) on the corner of State and Washington. We admired the Tiffany glass ceiling, the great clocks and the granite pillars of the famous building.

Tiffany glass ceiling (it's on the 5th floor if you want to visit):

While waiting to cross a street, I turned to the left and saw the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). This was the oldest futures and options exchange. It has since merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. For most people, this may not be exciting, but I work in financial services, so I have actually seen CBOT as the exchange on future trades.

Then we hopped on the train at Union Station and made it home in time for Hubs to watch the Indian's baseball game.

A little something for everyone.

On The Road Again

2008-04-24T13:22:00.003-05:00

We are moving home!!

I am thrilled. I didn't realize how much I want to go home until we made the final decision. Now I am positively giddy! I want to leave at the end of next week, but there might be a contractual obligation to stay until the following Friday. The contract is really between my current employer and the client (not me personally and the client). I could say "oh well" and just leave. However, I like my client and the industry is small, so I may be stuck here an extra week. On the other hand, the client isn't giving me enough work to fill the extra week, so I might make a plea for letting me go regardless of what the contract says. It will save the client a week of consulting fees, so they really should let me go.

Starting to Bloom

2008-04-23T06:33:00.003-05:00

Spring has arrived in Chicagoland. Trees budding, flowers blooming, green grass, warm breezes. It's wonderful!

The tree pictured below is right outside Sweetie's playroom window and it has the most amazing fragrance. When we come home at the end of the day, I can smell it as we come up the walk. It's a better welcome than a welcome mat.

The Best Thing You Can Do

2008-04-22T12:39:00.002-05:00

I just read this in a document at work:

The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.

Bless You

2008-04-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

Do people that don't believe in G*d get offended when someone says "Bless You" when they sneeze?

Happy Working Morning

2008-04-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

I spent 2 hours of the early morning participating in a group interview with a team in India. There were 3 in India and 6 here and it was great fun for me. My client is considering hiring them, so I was able to ask the questions (rather than be asked) and I loved it. I had a great time listening to their responses and building new questions based on what they said. We were able to get into some nitty-gritty and flush out the fluff from the solid knowledge. At the end of the interview, the client asked me what I thought and I gave a fair response pointing out both positives and negatives. The main decision maker for the client liked my analysis, which added to my warm and fuzzy feeling.

This was my first time participating in an interview where my opinion actually matters to someone and I'm just amazed at how much I enjoyed it. I've done interviews in the past, but they were mostly informative interviews to benefit the other person. For example, after my boss spoke with someone and decided he wanted to hire them, he would have me speak with them to give them the "real story" about the job. He wasn't looking for my input in the hiring decision. My role was purely the rah-rah cheerleader to make the interviewee want to work for us. Today's interview was so much more fun than those old "information" conversations.

Based on my performance today, I've been invited to participate in another one tomorrow and one more next week. I can't wait!

The Housework Is Not A Priority

2008-04-14T06:01:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to the local public library. I love the library and am worse than a kid in a candy shop. There were so many books and dvd's I wanted to take out. It was difficult, but I kept it under control. Next to the library is a kids science museum. We spent a few hours running around there, then went to lunch nearby. SPie fell asleep and it was raining, so we drove around the historic downtown area of Geneva. It's a pretty town and there are some lovely homes just off the center including a private residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright called Hoyt House. I forgot my camera, so I don't have a picture, but if you are interested, you can google it. I probably would not have taken a photo anyway since it is someone's personal home.

At the library I checked out a book on Mexican cooking. There was a recipe for Avocado and Prawn stuffed eggs. We had that for dinner, but we used can salamon instead of shrimp/prawns. It was delicious with a salad and some leftover rice.

After dinner I finished my scarf! Sweetie tried it on and it looks adorable on her. I didn't get a picture, but you can see the finished scarf on Big Teddy. I'm taking a second knitting class this week to learn how to do cables and a few other stitches. :-)

We spent Sunday hanging around the house with one excursion out for a walk to the grocery store. I started a chocolate mousse recipe without reading the entire thing first. Halfway through I realized it takes 4 raw eggs, so I switched to another recipe. It didn't work so well.

This morning I looked at my "to-do" list for the weekend and it included practical things like cleaning the bathroom. I didn't get my list done, but we had a nice family weekend around home.

Chicago Pictures From St. Patrick's Day

2008-04-11T01:26:00.007-05:00

Enjoy these pictures from Chicago taken in March.

The St. Patrick's Day green river with the Chicago Tribune building in the background.

Green River and Columbus Drive Bridge

Lake Michigan Waves

Marina City

Bird house for Purple Martins

Mosaic in the Bryn Mawr area. It's much bigger than what's pictured. We found it completely by accident - a lovely surprise.

The US and Chicago Flags. Each of the 4 stars represents a significant event for Chicago.

1st = the evacuation and burning of Fort Dearborn in 1812

2nd = the great fire in 1871

3rd = Chicago World's Fair in 1893

4th = 1933 World's Fair

More Green!

Curvy Green

My sister took this one. The proximity of the hot dog car to the church made her chuckle.

Talking About Money

2008-04-10T16:15:00.005-05:00

I just started reading Suze Orman's book Women and Money. She raises the issue of talking about money and how people don't consider it a "subject for polite conversation". Her point is that this is wrong and we as a society, and especially "we" as women, need to discuss money and not be afraid of it. This is rather timely as I am trying to figure out my salary requirements.

I don't know how to find out if my desired salary is "reasonable". I know that it will barely cover the expenses if my husband were to stay home and pursue his furniture making interest, but the number seems so high. Then again, when I gave my current employer my salary she said, "That seems low." My big fear is that I'll lose a job offer because I've asked for too much. Is that a crazy thought? I shouldn't be afraid to ask for what I need, right? And, I should believe that I'm worth that much!

I'm thinking of asking a couple of former co-workers and a former manager for suggested salary ranges. It's a little scary for me to do this. Employers have always said not to discuss salary, and I listened. Now I'm on my own island with no point of reference!

Suze is definitely onto something with the "conspiracy of silence" when it comes to discussing money matters. I think I'll take a deep breath and ask my contacts through email. It's not as big a step as calling on the phone, but it's a start.

My Bold Baby

2008-04-03T19:57:00.006-05:00

I recently heard a snippet of a radio interview with the jazz singer KoKo Taylor and it reminded me of my SweetiePie. Koko's voice is bold, fierce, rough, and strong, but the words of the songs were soft and loving and positive. That's how I've been thinking of my girl lately. She is a complex mix of wonderful things. She is fearless, independent, confident and strong, but she's also loving, sweet, cuddly, and kind.

My girl might go for the black crayon over the pink one day, then ask for her pink ponytail the next. She might play with cars and trains everyday for a week, then play with her baby dolls. She says, "I love you" freely and gives kisses. She sings silly songs and likes to dance. She knows her own mind and when she wants to do something on her own, do not get in the way.

I love her mix of bold and soft and I hope she never loses either side!

Living in Limbo

2008-04-01T10:40:00.005-05:00

Things have not worked out as expected with my new job. The client is great, but the employer is not delivering what I believe we agreed on. I'm waiting until the end of the week to see if a few things happen and if they don't, I have to look for another job.

While we wait, everything is in limbo. Hubs is holding off looking for a job. We are looking at houses to rent (our apartment lease is up in May), but we can't commit to anything yet. We are touring other preschools, but that is a bit of a waste since we don't know where we'll be living after May. Some of the schools that are close to our apartment won't be convenient for some of the rental houses. Family and friends are asking about visiting, but we don't want anyone to book flights until we know we'll be staying.

We've been living in this limbo since we arrived and it's making me crazy. It's times like this when having to work for a living really bugs me. My future plans are dependent on what my employer does and I have no control over that.

Sporty Things

2008-03-31T16:27:00.003-05:00

Today is opening day for the Cleveland Indians. Hubs is a huge fan, but didn't get to watch many games last year. In fact, I'm not sure he watched any. The Indians are just not all that popular in Sydney. This year opening day is at Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox. He is watching it live now and he can watch it again during the rebroadcast tonight. How lucky is he?!? SPie likes baseball, so they can even watch it together.

I don't know much about sports and sometimes it would be nice to know. I often work with guys and they do talk about sports. It's not just a cliche. It would be nice to join in the water cooler sports talk every now and then, but I really can't be bothered to learn about sports now. However, if SPie wants to sit with Dad and watch a game, I'm all for it!

A girlfriend of mine is a BIG sports fan. For her honeymoon, she planned a trip that included going to Buffalo to see a Patriots game and California for a basketball game. She has a website, http://www.sportsflowerbox.com/, for sports themed window boxes. She started out doing a replica of Fenway Park's Green Monster on her bar at home (to scale... she's into math too). Friends loved it, so she moved on to flower boxes. She did a couple for charity auctions with the Patriot's logo and field too. If you are into sports (or need a gift for someone into sports), you should check this out. You can request specific teams and for the scoreboard boxes, you can request specific games.

These aren't the greatest pictures, but they'll give you an idea of what it's about.

Borrowing Someone Else's Post

2008-03-28T12:29:00.004-05:00

Hi - check out this post:
http://bleedingespresso.com/2008/03/where-im-from-inspired-by-george-ella-lyon.html

Make sure you read SusieJ's version here: (It made me cry at work!)
http://www.susiej.com/index.php/about/

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to turn your lights off from 8 pm - 9 pm on Saturday (March 29, 2008) for Earth Hour

Things to Remember

2008-03-25T15:35:00.008-05:00

This post is really for me. After yesterday's post, I was thinking about all the things my Sweetie does - good and bad. Following are some things I don't want to forget. Granted, most of it is identical to every other 2 1/2 year old, but she's mine and I'm not taking any chances on forgetting.

She calls me "Honey Bunny". As in, "I want to sit with my Honey Bunny". Sometimes she'll call me Sweetie too, but usually that's my name for her. She'll call her Dad "Sweetie Daddy".

In the last two months or so, she has started complying with requests for hugs and kisses. She used to say "no" when we asked for a kiss. Or she would give you her cheek. Now she puckers her lips and it looks so cute!

She LOVES cars, trucks, trains, helicopters, motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, and anything else with wheels that go. I don't think I will forget this, but she loves them so much that it's worth mentioning.

We've seen a number of trains carrying double stacked shipping containers . The other day she put her train cars on top of each other to make a double stacked train of her own.

When she's playing in her playroom alone and hears the train whistle outside, she runs out of the playroom to be next to Hubs or me.

When she was learning the alphabet she used to yell "A, B, C, D" and we had to yell back "E, F, G". Sometimes she would dictate whose turn it was to respond ... "Mommy's turn, A,B,C,D" and I would have to yell back. If someone went out of turn we had to do it again.

She loves to sing and dance and do forward rolls around the house. The forward rolls make me a little nervous that she's going to break her neck!

She likes the show Wonder Pets. She'll sing "What's gonna work" and we'll sing "Teamwork" like the pets do in the show. She'll vary the pitch and tone and we sing it back in the same way.

When it's time for a new diaper we sing the diaper song... "Diaper, diaper for you!". Sometimes it's more of a howl than singing, but it's fun. For both of us!

She'll make up words to a song to fit whatever we are doing at the time. For example, "This is the way we go to school, go to school, go to school" Or, "The fork takes the hot dog, the fork takes the hot dog, hi-ho the derry-0, the fork takes the hot dog." Lately she's been trying to sing Frere Jacques but loses it after "Dormez-vous", so she'll begin again in English (Brother John).

She likes to help in the kitchen. Shredded cheese is called "sprinkles" because she likes to sprinkle it on food. She learned how to crack eggs (with help) when her Auntie came to visit. She is very good at pouring liquids for me and can also cut some things with her own cutting knife.

She has a big sweet tooth (just like her Mom - oh no!). If she sees us eating ice cream or hears a wrapper that sounds like a candy wrapper, she'll say "I want some". The other day I was opening a new dish sponge and the wrapper sounded like candy. She was disappointed when she realized it was only a sponge.

She knows her alphabet and sometimes she can count to 20.

She loves the library, the playground, the pool (but only if the water is heated), the beach, carousels, ferris-wheels, and all other "fun" spots. She also loves bubbles. Crayons are good but "big people" pens and markers are better.

Puzzles, mega-blocks, tea sets, lift-tab books, Little People, Rody, finger-paints, watercolors, and my exercise ball are all fun. In fact, almost anything can be made into entertainment. Empty paper towel tubes are telescopes, a single empty toilet paper roll can be a camera, two empty toilet paper rolls together are binoculars.

The maracas, whistle, kazoo, drum sticks, and electric keyboard are fun for making music, but anything that makes a repetitive sound is now called music. For example, the sound of her winter boot hitting the middle console in my car is now called music (until I take the boots off because I can't stand it when she "thumps" the car!).

Thomas videos and dvds are loved and she can now put them in and take them out of both the player and the cases.

She won't go to bed at night unless Hubs or I lay down with her. She hates to think she's missing something, so the whole house has to settle down at bedtime. If we don't sleep with her, it's a crap shoot as to whether or not she'll sleep through the night. If she wakes up and she's alone, she'll come to our room, climb into bed and fall right back to sleep.

When she gets tired she makes a sucking motion as if she's sucking on a pacifier or the inside of her cheek. She's always done this and she's never had a pacifier. She also likes to rub things when she's tired... the mattress, the blanket. If she's sitting on my lap and getting tired, she'll rub my arm. I think it's the repetitive motion that she likes.

She calls the "footie" pajamas the "slippery ones" because she slides a little on the hard wood floors at home.

She's adorably groggy when she first wakes up. As a baby she was most alert and the most fun in the mornings, but now she might be showing signs of being a night owl rather than a morning person.

She loves bath time and plays with her frogs, ducks, boots, and her kiwi bird cup. She'll put the washcloth in the cup and have it hanging out the top a little so it looks like an ice cream cone and she'll make believe she's licking it. She'll put the rubber ducks on top of the shampoo bottles and call it a space ship. She likes to wash the frogs. Two ducks will fit in the kiwi cup and it will become the ducks' pool.

Her all time favorite bedtime books right now are the Thomas books (she has 4). She also likes Curious George Takes a Job, Kat Kong and the Corduroy books (she also has 4). When we read Corduroy Goes To The Doctor she loves when we give her a make believe shot followed by a band-aid, a button and a balloon. She'll take the imaginary balloon from me and sometimes it will pop, other times she'll let go and it will float to the ceiling. It has a long string, so if she stands up in bed, she can reach it and grab it again. She'll also do the deep breath and wants her eyes and ears examined like Corduroy. She has most of the books memorized and if I try to skip a few words here or there, she'll make me go back and re-read the entire page. Sometimes we play "fill in the blank" where I will stop reading and ask her to finish the sentence or fill in a word. Most of the time she gets it exactly.

Lately she's been saying she wants to be a fire-fighter when she grows up so she can drive the fire truck. Today an ambulance and police car drove by us with their lights on, so today she wanted to be a police officer.

Every once in a while she lets someone play with her hair to put barrettes or ponytails in. We have dragonfly barrettes that are her favorite. They don't usually last long because she would rather pull them out of her hair and play with them.

When I pick her up at the end of the day, she'll run up to me and give me a hug and say "Mummy". And I love it.

She's Two

2008-03-25T15:20:00.003-05:00

Last Friday Hubs and I did the daycare drop off together. We asked the teacher how things were going and the response we received isn't what I expected.

Our Sweetie doesn't like to take naps at school. She isn't always a fan of napping at home, but for some reason I thought things were different at school. According to the teacher, she will sing to herself and tell herself stories. The teacher will ask her to be quiet and nap and Sweetie will whisper, "We have to be quiet because our friends are sleeping" and then she'll continue singing.

One day last week Sweetie made one of her classmates cry when she surprised him with a tackle from behind. They don't think she's trying to hurt her classmates, but she doesn't seem to know when she's being too rough. We tried to work on this with her over the weekend, and the teacher said her "new thing" yesterday was to lean on her classmates rather than tackle them. She's bigger than a few of them, so the school still don't like this. I think it's an improvement.

Over the weekend, Sweetie spilled her drink a couple of times at home. I never saw her do it, I only saw the resulting puddle she was playing in, so I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. Yesterday the teacher told us that she purposefully tipped over a classmate's milk during lunch.

For all my bitching about daycare, they seem to be ok with the behavior. "OK" in the sense that she's two and kids at two are learning what is appropriate behaviour (or not appropriate) and testing things out.

Stuff

2008-03-24T13:10:00.002-05:00

The blogger at disdressed posted a link to a NYT article about a photography project. A photographer started taking pictures of girls and all their pink stuff and boys and all their blue stuff. If I lived in the NYC area, I would love to check it out. There are a few pictures linked to the article and they are a bit distressing (as opposed to disdressed... get it? ha ha ha... ).

My family gives my daughter way too much stuff at holidays and throughout the year. It's done out of love and all, but it's not necessary and is a bit overwhelming. If I remember, I'll take a picture of my daughter sitting among ALL her stuff right before Thanksgiving and send it to my family so they can see that we really don't need a whole lot more stuff!

While I'm on the topic of stuff, check this out... http://www.storyofstuff.com/. To be honest, I've seen links to this site on other blogs and I received an email from my brother with the link, but I still haven't watched it. It's on my list of things to do. Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Euthanasia

2008-03-20T10:12:00.003-05:00

Have you heard about the story of the French woman who wanted to be euthanized? She was suffering from a painful, disfiguring, incurable form of cancer that caused facial tumors. The French government denied her request for assisted suicide two days before she was found dead. The article is here on cnn.com. According to the article, the cause of death is unclear.

What do you think? I don't have many details, but given what you know, would you consider assisted suicide?

In my opinion, quality of life would be shit due to the disfiguration, even without the pain. It is a fact that people are judged based on appearances, but for me that is not a reason to die.

The tumors caused the eyes to bulge, so I would guess she had vision issues. I don't think I would want to die because I was blind.

I would have to be in a lot of pain to truly want to die. It would have to literally be torturous. If I spent my entire waking life unable to think of anything else but the pain, then maybe I would consider death as an option.

There is the issue of money. I'm guessing I wouldn't be able to work which means no health insurance. It would be tough to be a financial burden. I think I would want to work with doctor's in a research capacity. I would be completely open to being a human test case to help future victims of the disease. Maybe I could work a deal to get free "treatment" if some of it was experimental.

The final decision point would be my daughter. I wouldn't want to miss any part of her life. So, as I sit her in my healthy, pain-free body, I'm going to say, nope I couldn't consider causing my own death to be an option. What can I say, death is BIG. No turning back. And not really my thing.

Now, what if it wasn't you, but if it was a friend of yours? Would you help them die?

It might not be the decision I would make, but if I felt she had really thought it through and that was her decision, I believe I would respect that. I wouldn't be able to actually do anything to cause her death to happen, but I wouldn't condemn her if she did something herself. I would carry out any post-mortem requests she had (i.e., helping her family, burial wishes, etc) and I would remember her respectfully.

It's an interesting decision to contemplate and I'm very grateful I don't have to (and hope I never do). As the saying goes, there but for the Grace of God go I.

***

P.S. I think it's funny that they day after I post about possible not blogging, I decide to post twice in one day!

Goodbye Auntie, Hello Knitting

2008-03-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

My sister just left for the airport to fly home. She stayed with SPie and I the entire time my husband was away. I was bitchy and very bossy, but she's used to that and didn't seem to care. Except for last Sunday when she finally said, "Please stop talking to me." And the Sunday before that when she threw kids toys at me at the children's museum (thankfully they were the squishy balls and not the wood blocks). But other than that, it was a good visit!

SPie LOVED having Auntie here. They played trains, watched Thomas videos, and painted Easter eggs. They read books, sang silly songs, splashed in puddles and poked at the mud with sticks. What's not to love!

Thank you Auntie. Your stay made our time away from Hubs much easier to live through. Thanks to my nephew for loaning us his Mom for 18 days! Thanks to my Mom and my other sister for taking care of my nephew at home. It's a tangled little family web!

***

In other news, I've been inspired by all the craft blogs I read to start doing crafty things. Last night I took a knitting class.

If all goes well, this is going to grow up to be a scarf.

***

Hey, I just realized the time on this blog is still set for Sydney. I thought I had already fixed that...ugh! I'll try and fix it again. (I manually changed this one).

Conflicted

2008-03-19T01:35:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading all the entries at "...so i stabbed him in the head with a fork". It was really interesting. She was very honest and open - neither of which I think I am on this blog. Not that I lie, but I just am not the type to put it all out there. I've told too many people about the blog. There are things that I don't mind total strangers reading, but I definitely don't want people I know to read!

When we were in Australia, this blog had a purpose. It was an easy place to post information and pictures about some of the fun stuff we were doing and share it with family and friends (and other bloggers that have been nice enough to stop by...hi there!).

Now that we are back, the blog doesn't seem as useful. We still don't live close to family or friends, but we are just doing the same day to day stuff that everyone else is doing. I'm not complaining. My life is good. But do I really need to share this stuff? Do you really care that I'm eating too many cookies?

I've been thinking about quitting and maybe starting a new blog and not giving the address to anyone I know in "real life". It could be a place to post more personal things. The problem with that is, I'm not sure that I would! My big fear is that someone finds the new blog and figures out they know me. Then I would be all exposed and what not!

I read a ton of blogs (to the detriment of my productivity at work) and I still love the idea of blogging. I just don't love the reality that is my blog. So, I'm not sure what to do with this space. I'm not ready to completely quit yet, but maybe soon...

Happy Evacuation Day

2008-03-16T17:34:00.000-05:00

Did you know the city of Boston has St. Patrick's Day off for Evacuation Day?

Boston loves it's St. Patrick's Day celebrations! When I was young my Grandmother lived in a triple-decker in South Boston. I remember going to the city early and spending the day. Relatives I only saw once a year would all visit and we'd have corned beef and cabbage and watch the parade. I don't have any vivid memories of the actual parade. It's the "crowded in a good way" apartment with all those steps up and down, the food (Irish bread, boiled stuff and brownies for dessert with extra brownies to take home) and the sense of tradition that I remember.

I've got my own boiled dinner cooking at home in a crock pot. I've never used the crock pot for this before. It might be a completely over-done bowl of mush by the time we get home, but at least we can say we had it!

On Saturday, my sister and I went to Chicago (with SPie) to see the green river. I'll post some pictures later in the week, but you can check out a picture here (the first picture is the Chicago River). It really is cool. The water turns a great kelly green shade. We skipped the Chicago parade, but we did spend some time walking around and snapping photos. Everyone was very friendly and we had a good day.

***

Hubs is on his way home! He called this morning on his way through Canada. He'll be staying with relatives in Detroit tonight and we should all be together for dinner tomorrow! I AM SO HAPPY!

***

Daycare drop off was great today. We walked in and SPie said hello to everyone (not by name, but she waved and said "hi friends"). Some of the children actually said hello to her by name! She jumped right into the activities and the teacher actually smiled. Maybe it's the luck o' the Irish!

***

Here are two Irish expressions for you. The first is one I've heard for years and the second is one I just found on the internet here (I love the internet!).

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you.

Deer!

2008-03-14T09:31:00.002-05:00

We saw 4 deer grazing in the field across from our apartment complex this morning. It was so nice to see!

The entire morning went well. SPie slept in a little and things went much smoother. I was 30 minutes later for work, but it was worth it. Daycare drop off was so smooth thanks to the gymnastics class that was going on when we arrived. She loves the class and ran to give the gymnastics teacher a big hug. It was so nice to see.

Now for my daily day care complaint (believe me, I wish had nothing to complain about as much as you wish I would stop complaining!)...
Everyday I bring SPie to school with boots on and change her into crocs to wear in the classroom. I leave the boots in her bin with her hats and mittens. I noticed the crocs are looking a little dirty, so today I asked the teacher if they change her into the boots when they go outside. No, they don't! That's right, in the cold of Illinois, they have been taking my daughter outside with crocs on! Even though there is a perfectly good pair of boots sitting in her cubbie! Can't they see there are holes in crocs!!! Don't they know holes are not good for little feet in the cold outside???

I was so floored I didn't say anything. When I could finally speak again, I asked if they've been putting the hat and mittens on her. Thankfully, they have been. At least that's something. Granted, I did not explicitly explain that crocs were for indoor wear only, but I didn't think I had to!

I called the Hubs and he wants me to speak with the school director. I'm a little concerned about doing this because I don't want an annoyed teacher to treat my daughter worse because we've complained. I'll have to think about it over the weekend. I'm sure there is a positive way that I can spin this.

I was thinking of expressing some of my concerns to the director along with some "suggestions" that might resolve my concerns. A few suggestions I had were to have the children's pictures on the birthday balloons so the parent's can know all the children, have the children bring in family photos for a picture board and have the teachers provide a weekly lesson plan with the planned activities for the week. I was also thinking of a first day classroom orientation for parents. It wasn't until the 2nd week that I noticed the bulletin board with the daily activities. It would have been great if someone had pointed it out the first day.

If you have any ideas from your own daycare/preschool experiences, I would love to hear them.

I Want to See My Daddy

2008-03-13T08:37:00.001-05:00

The last words from SPie as I was leaving her at daycare in a crying heap on the teacher's lap, "I want to see my Daddy."

It was not a good morning.

Is it so Hard to Say Hello?... And Other Daycare Complaints

2008-03-12T08:30:00.006-05:00

During daycare pick up last night and drop off this morning another parent has come in to pick up/drop off their child while I'm there. I always say hello to the parent and to their child. In fact, many times the other children will come up and stand in front of me as I'm getting SPie ready, so I always talk to them and say goodbye when I leave. The other children bring me their books and toys on a regular basis. They seem to like the conversation and so do I (maybe I should have been a pre-school teacher).

Back to my point...I'm finding the parents don't say hello back! How rude is that?? What kind of example is that?? I don't care how rushed you are, you can say hello. And I don't mean an unintelligible mumble or grunt. Form the word, speak up and say hello! I'm not asking them to stop whatever else they are doing. I'm not expecting a conversation, just a simple greeting. These kids spend about 10 hours a day with each other. It would be great if we could recognize each other and be cordial.

The head teacher in my daughter's room may be a wonderful person, but she's very friendly either. At my child's prior day care, each child was greeted and made to feel welcome as they entered. The children were encouraged to learn each other's names as well as the teacher's names. I've asked my daughter about the other children in her class and she has no idea what their names are. She calls the teachers "the girls". That is just so wrong! Now when we arrive, I encourage her to say good morning to her teacher by name, but truthfully, I'm always worried that the teacher isn't going to respond.

The communication about the day is horrible as well. By the time I pick up, the main teachers are gone and there is only a student-teacher left. She arrives at 3pm and has no idea what happened before she arrived. There is a white board where some activities are written, but it would be great to have someone available who knows about the entire day. For example, the center has Spanish lessons two days a week. The white board says, "we had Spanish class today". What does that tell me? Nothing I didn't already know. It would be helpful to know what words or activities they did in Spanish class. What if I wanted to reinforce whatever the lesson was with some practice at home? Too bad for me. Yesterday the board said, "we painted eggs". Great, but can I see the eggs? We pay extra for gymnastics lessons on Friday. Last Friday I didn't receive any information about the lesson, so I asked if they had class. I didn't ask what they did during gymnastics, I just want to know if they had the class. The student-teacher didn't know because the class happens before 3pm and she wasn't there!

It's only the third week, so maybe I'm just being too judgemental. SPie is happy at the end of the day, so it can't be that bad. We actually have another facility picked out for the fall. Unfortunately, the other school starts at age 3, so she's too young to attend now. We have 5 1/2 months left at this school. I hope we know all the classmates names by then.

Need a Schedule

2008-03-11T11:25:00.003-05:00

SPie's schedule (and my schedule) is completely screwed up. Over the weekend, the naps went out the window since we were doing stuff and we aren't back on track yet.

Saturday we visited Chicago - tons of stuff to see. We didn't even scratch the surface! She was excited about the train and the trolley's, so she didn't nap until we were driving home at 5:30. She was still asleep at 7, so I thought she was going to sleep through the night. At 9:30 she appeared in the living room ready to play! UGH! We were up until midnight (really 11, but with the time change it was midnight). I actually fell asleep while she watched a video. When it ended, she woke me up. How sad.

Sunday we went to the Dupage Children's Museum and again had a late nap.

Yesterday, we went to the library on the way home. I really thought we would be in and out in 30 minutes. There was story time at 7, so we stayed. She loved it, but we didn't have dinner until 8:30!

The "late" nights have been making the morning a nightmare. I get all cranky because we're running late and I start snapping. This really isn't fair to SPie since it's my fault that we haven't been to bed on time. So, tonight we are having dinner, a bath, and going to bed. There will be no stops on the way home and no activities. Dinner, bath, bed. Dinner, bath, bed.

***

Follow ups:
(1.) The "no cookies at lunch" thing was delayed a day. My lunch yesterday was awful (fish pizza - way too salty. yuck!), so I had a cookie to make up for it. Today I'm doing my errands at lunch (so we can have "dinner, bath, bed"!) and eating at home, so I'll be able start the "no cookies at lunch" today.

(2.) Daycare drop off has been ever so slightly easier since we are arriving later in the morning. The kids are already in their classrooms, so she doesn't have to go to the atrium. She's still clingy in the classroom, but not as bad.

Freshman 15

2008-03-07T08:37:00.004-06:00

My client gives us loads of free food and it's catching up with me. Two weeks in and I can feel the fit of my clothes changing for the worse. A co-worker called it the "client 15" rather than the "freshman 15" and I think she's right.

For lunch we can choose from a salad bar, pizza bar, 2 soups, a full deli, a grill, pasta bar, and a hot entree special. For example, this week they've had an open faced tilapia sandwich, a really good mushroom and spinach pizza, fried chicken, eggplant lasagna and today's entree is Salmon Papillote with Lyonaise Potatoes and Cleric Root Puree. That sounds delicious. And it's free. On the way out of the cafeteria, there are free cookies and brownies. That's what really gets me. I have a HUGE sweet tooth and enjoy 1 -2 cookies everyday.

The kitchen by my workstation has snacks and fruit. I love fruit, but I usually choose the snacks. Mmmm...Fritos! I never buy fritos for home, so this has been a real treat.

My sister and I are thinking of doing the leek soup "fix" from the book French Women Don't Get Fat. We're going to the library this weekend to pick up a copy and I think we'll start on Monday. It would make more sense to do it over the weekend, but we're heading to the city on Saturday and have plans for brunch on Sunday, so we can't be dieting. Come Monday, it's no more lunch cookies for me! Maybe. Unless it's a special occasion. Or Friday. I let you know how it goes.

********

Daycare drop off was a little better today. She was excited when we pulled up to the school, but didn't want to go to the atrium for the big playgroup time. I have the feeling that she likes the classroom time, but not the free-for-all of the atrium. When I picked her up yesterday, she wanted to stay and play with everyone rather than go home, so overall I think she's happy.

Daycare Drop Off

2008-03-05T15:29:00.000-06:00

SPie is back at daycare for the first time this week. It's only her second week, so it's her 6th day. This is the first time I have dropped her off and I hated it. Before 8 am, drop off is in one big room for a large group playtime. I stayed to watch her for a few minutes and my little Sweetie looked so lost. She wasn't playing with any of the other kids and kept looking back at me. Granted, it probably didn't help that I was watching, but I hated seeing her like that. I know she loves daycare because everyday when I pick her up she doesn't want to leave and is very happy. I'm sure it's just that she's had 5 days away from everyone and needs to get her bearings again. I still hated it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I might go cry in the ladies room before I start my work day.

Laughing At Myself

2008-03-04T12:55:00.002-06:00

The past few days at work, I have been about as graceful as an elephant. On Friday I stretched my legs under the table and hit the power cord for the server that connects everyone in the room (about 8 of us) to the client's network. ZAP - we were all shutdown. Yesterday my chair got stuck under my table and I had to yank it out causing the entire table to shake. Not a huge deal except that I share the table with someone. Today I was trying out a new reusable water bottle and it leaked all over me... UGH! I think the guy sitting next to me is getting a little nervous.

Out of Balance

2008-03-03T09:14:00.004-06:00

Things are not right today. Hubs had to go home for a few weeks. He totally takes care of me and SPie, so this is a major loss. Wait...I'm not sure that came out as positive as I meant... of course I would miss him even if he just sat on the couch all day, but he doesn't just sit on the couch, so I miss him even more...did that come out any better? Well, I hope you get the point. It sucks that he's gone.

So, my sister flew in yesterday to visit and help out with SPie. I'm glad she is here because SPie has a horrible case of the sniffles and a bad cough. She's home from daycare today and having fun hanging out with Auntie! Calling in sick in my second week of work due to a sick child would not be good. For various reasons I don't have my medical insurance at my new job yet, so I really hope SPie gets better soon... like today!

Hubs had to take his laptop home with him, so I don't have a computer at home. I cannot tell you how many times I went to find the computer to look something up. Being in a new place, I use Google maps almost every time I go somewhere. I am so sad not to have a computer.

To top of the personal disruptions, my client laid off 30 people last week including one of the Project Managers for the project I'm working on and two contractors from another company. I'm hoping my position is secure. I don't imagine the client would have signed the contract to hire me 3 weeks ago if they planned on ending the project.

I hope you are having a more balanced day than I am. I’m sure tomorrow will be better. (I sound like little Orphan Annie!)

Peace

Power Sharing in Kenya

2008-02-28T11:25:00.002-06:00

Hiya. I just read this article on cnn.com; Kenya rivals sign power-sharing deal.

President Mwai Kibaki will remain President and Raila Odinga will be Prime Minister. Both leaders urged an end to the violence. This is such good news. I hope it works!

Money in Warming

2008-02-26T14:03:00.002-06:00

Check out this article at Bloomberg.com; Global Warming Melts New Sea Lanes for Norilsk, ConocoPhillips . It talks about how the melting caused by global warming is going to allow companies to make money and save money by sailing over the top of the world.

In other sad news, Kofi Annan has halted the talks in Kenya. They were going nowhere, so he's stopped them. He did say he will hold individual talks with each side.

Arrived and Moved In

2008-02-23T09:07:00.003-06:00

We took 3 days to drive from the Boston area to the Chicago area. It doesn't have to take that long, but we took it slow with a U-haul in tow. It was a very relaxing drive! Fortunately, we had clear weather for almost the entire trip.

The apartment is decent. Upstairs is the master bedroom, bath, walk-in closet and a loft that we made into SPie's bedroom. Downstairs has a second bedroom that we've made into SPie's playroom. We surprised her with a train set and hung Thomas the Train wall stickers around the room. She loves it. She hates to have her picture taken, but she actually wanted to have her picture taken next to the Thomas stickers!

Monday is our new beginnings day; SPie starts daycare and I start work. Wish us luck!

The playroom:

The view from our apartment (it's very flat out here!)

More Free Stuff

2008-02-14T09:13:00.003-06:00

I've been reading a number of blogs by women who are reviewing their finances, so this is a timely give a way.

Until 8/7c tonight you can download a free copy of Suze Orman's book, Women & Money. Click here for the link to the page on Oprah's site. Then scroll down until you see the book. It's offered in both Spanish and English.

Read and $ave!

Give Away Contest

2008-02-12T11:00:00.001-06:00

GreenStyleMom is giving away 2 reusable water bottles made by SIGG. If you need reusable water bottles, check out the contest here: http://greenstylemom.blogspot.com/2008/02/sigg100-giveaway.html).

I went to the sigg website and took their 10 question global warming IQ quiz. I only got two correct! Give it a try and let me know how you do ....
(http://sigg100.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=39). My guess is that I'm not the only one that doesn't know the answers!

If you check out the sigg 100 site, don't forget to enter for a trip to Hawaii.

Good luck on the give-aways!

Cleaning Out

2008-02-11T10:01:00.002-06:00

We've been cleaning out as we pack. In the past two weeks, we've recycled about 12 bags of shredded paper from old files, donated 3 bags of toys/clothes/and general stuff, and donated 1 bag of children's books (lucky little Sweetie-Pie had duplicates). I've also purged and partially organized a bunch of old pictures (going back almost 20 years!). I had hoped to get the pictures into albums, but I don't have time for that right now. Maybe during next year's clean out.

I've also re-discovered ebay! I have a few things on ebay now and people have actually bid on them! I forgot how exciting it is to get money for the stuff that was just sitting in my house. Now I'm searching the house for other things to sell.

The Countdown

2008-02-07T09:32:00.000-06:00

In 10 days we will be on the road to Chicago!

Before then we have to pack, do our taxes, refinance the house, pack, start looking through the daycare materials, pack, have the cars checked out, buy real snow boots, and pack!

Home is Where the Heat Is

2008-02-04T12:04:00.000-06:00

I took SPie out for a walk over the weekend and she kept saying it was too windy and cold and she wanted to go home. We cut the walk short and went home, but she still kept saying, "We need to go home". I think she really misses the warm weather of Australia!

She's going to be even more upset with our next move. On Friday we made the final decision; we are going to Naperville, IL (oustide Chicago). One day last week, the weather channel listed the temp at -1F. SPie better start loving her hat and mittens or she's going to be an unhappy popsicle!

We leave Boston on the 17th and I start my new assignment on the 25th. Wish us luck!

Language of Mediation

2008-01-30T09:17:00.000-06:00

I love the language and phrasing that Kofi Annan uses in this statement.

"To the leaders gathered here today, I say this: The people need you, they want you to take charge of the situation and do whatever possible to halt the downward spiral into chaos that is threatening this beautiful and prosperous country. You have to act with urgency."

It appeals to the leaders sense of power with the words "need" and "take charge". The phrasing "beautiful and prosperous country" shows respect for the region and is a reminder that Kenya was a viable economic area. Ending with the call to "act with urgency" leaves no doubt about the purpose for the mediation talks.

Pride and Prejudice

2008-01-29T09:07:00.000-06:00

Images, pictures and descriptions of violence stay with me forever, so I try to avoid them. As a result, I don't watch the news and am basically ignorant about what is happening in the world. However, I have just started listening to NPR while driving to and from work.

One story that has my attention is the ongoing violence and unrest in Kenya. For those that don't know (as I didn't until recently), Raila Odinga was elected President in September 2007. He ran as leader of the Orange Democratic Movement party. In December 2007, the Kenyan election commission declared Mwai Kibaki the President. Odinga believes the ruling is fraudulent and Kibaki should step down or call another election. Of course, Kibaki does not agree. As a result, members of the Kikuyu tribe (who support Kibaki) and Luos and Kalenjins (who support Odinga) have been rioting and murdering.

Last week Kofi Annan (former U.N. chief) led the first meeting between President Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. There was hope that this meeting would lead to some peace in the area, but it did not. After the meeting, the President used language that Odinga and his people found insulting and more violence ensued.

I know nothing of the history, but the news stories state a long history of hatred between the various tribes. The conflict over who is the "rightful" President appears to be the tip off for the rioting, but the real reason seems to be rooted in the racial issues. In an interview I heard on NPR, Odinga said he asked his supporters to stop the violence, but it didn't sound truthful.

I'm fascinated by people like Kofi Annan who attempt to mediate a resolution. I've always admired people who have the vision to see resolution to large, difficult and seemingly unsolvable issues. In one interview on NPR, a Kenyan politician was offended when the interviewer asked about compromise. The politician said, "this is not a good word". If the leaders are not willing to compromise, what hope is there?

The violence is frightening to me. Stories like this make me wonder what I would do if riots started in my neighborhood. How could I protect my family? If it seemed to be ongoing, would I try to outrun it and leave? Would there be somewhere safe to go? Who could help? This is why I hate "the news". I don't want to think of a riot in my neighborhood or think of my daughter living in such unrest.

I also start to wonder what I, in my little suburb in the US, can do to make life better for those in Kenya? Nothing that I can see. I suppose raising a child that has values will help the future in general terms. I wonder if Odinga and Kibaki were taught that it is ok to admit that you have made a mistake, that it might be ok to be flexible in your opinion for the greater good, that people in the other tribes are very similar to yourself. I'm guessing not, or at least not effectively. So, I'll try to effectively teach my daughter the basic values. Who knows, maybe some day she'll be a mediator brokering peace for a country in need.

Today I'll send out a few silent wishes...

For Kofi Annan - that he have the vision and the words that the politicians will accept that will lead to a resolution of this latest conflict and open the door to preventing future internal conflicts.

For Kibaki and Odinga - that they can learn to compromise, let go of past hatreds, and be leaders that can promote and maintain a stable, healthy and diverse community.

For everyone with children in their lives - that we can teach them the values and skills that will lead to a good and peaceful life.

For my little SweetiePie - that she never has personal experience with the violence and fear that so many people in the world live with everyday.

- Peace

Recycle Plastic or Conserve Water?

2008-01-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

I had a Jello Pudding Cup as a snack at work and decided to take the cup home to recycle it. Before taking it home, I washed it out.

Which is better, to use water to clean the cup so I can recycle or to save the water and just throw the cup out? I suppose I could just wipe it out with a napkin and not use water, but then again... use a paper napkin to recycle or just throw it out?

This "green" thing is tricky!

Back to It

2008-01-22T16:27:00.000-06:00

Today is my first day back in the office after "the big trip home". I hadn't used my work laptop in 8 months, so it took almost the entire day to get that going again (it had issues and needed to be rebuilt). I have a phone and I know the voice mail password, but I can't get it to stop forwarding my calls to the Blackberry. The best thing of all is that I have a desk! Before I left, I was in a temporary space... long tables with outlets and everyone just sat in whatever seat was free. Now I have my own cube (how sad that I'm so excited about a cube...once upon a time I actually had my own office... with a window... things have changed * sigh *).

It's kind of nice to be back to the familiar, but I'm sure it will irritate me soon enough.

On The Road

2008-01-03T00:31:00.000-06:00

We are about half way through our trip home...

From Sydney we flew to Honolulu and spent 4 days in Hawaii; 1 day sleeping (jet lag - but we did see the sunset!), 1 day at the pool and at Waikiki beach (SPie loved the beach), and two days in rainy Hilo. We were scheduled to go on a helicopter tour of the volcanoes, but it was rained out. Instead we drove around the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (cool to see, but wet).

On Christmas day we flew to California where we spent 3 days visiting relatives. We were completely spoiled with home cooked meals and the most comfortable bed I think I've ever slept in. It was great to see family and to have SPie spend time with her cousins.

As we drove, we tried to stay off the highways and visit sites along the way. We went through a small part of the Sequoia National Park (most of it is closed for the winter), drove down the strip in Las Vegas at night, stopped at the Hoover Dam, spent 1/2 a day at the Grand Canyon and visited the ruins at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.

We missed a few things we tried to see. The Grand Canyon Caverns, Four Corners and the Navajo National Monument were all closed by the time we arrived. We also wanted to see the rock in Shiprock, New Mexico, but our timing was off and we drove through at night so we couldn't see anything. Most of these stops were things we picked off the map as we drove, so it's not such a big deal, but the Four Corners does bug me a little. It's only closed 3 days a year and we were in the area for one of them!

Yesterday we had a fun day visiting with friends in Albuquerque. We spent most of the day at the Explora Science Center which is full of hands on exhibits that were good for SPie, but also interesting to us.

...8 days to go before we are home

Last Weekend in Sydney

2007-12-16T14:35:00.000-06:00

For our last weekend in Sydney, we had one beautiful sunny day and one cloudy rainy day. This is fairly representative of the weather we've had throughout the trip!

Saturday we drove to the Blue Mountains to check out the "3 sisters" at Echo Point. We stopped at a few other view points along the way including the waterfall at Wentworth. At each lookout there were mountains and valleys for as far as you can see.

Sunday we went to the Chinese Garden at Darling Harbour in Sydney. In addition to the plantings, sculptures and out buildings, we saw many huge spider webs. They are amazing to look at. It started to rain while we were there, so we hid out in one of the buildings by the coy fish pond. The fish were active and partially jumping out of the water. It was a great show.

While SPie napped on Sunday, we packed up the toys that we aren't taking on the trip home. We thought she might be upset when she woke up, but she hasn't seemed to notice yet!

SPie did notice the fireworks that were set off on the harbour behind our building last night. She buried her head under the blankets in bed and needed Sherp and I to climb in with her until they were over. Oops - maybe she was a little young for fireworks...

The "3 sisters" are the 3 peaks.

Chinese Garden fish:

Counting Down

2007-12-12T04:59:00.000-06:00

There are only 9 days until we leave Australia and head for home! We are ready. It's been a great experience, but now that it's time to go, we just want to go. We've already mailed all of our holiday cards and Christmas/Australia gifts and shipped most of our belongings. We've donated clothes and have people designated to receive the other things we won't use and don't want to ship (i.e., flour sugar, nail polish remover, SPie's tricycle). Our suitcases are packed except for the clothes and toiletries we need for the next 9 days. The only thing left to do is pack and ship SPie's toys. We are looking forward to heading back to the states!

Fireworks

2007-12-03T12:34:00.000-06:00

Last weekend there was a tree lighting event at Darling Harbour. A stage was setup on the water with singers and kid's characters (i.e., Bob the Builder). Santa arrived on jet skis with sparklers coming off the back and everyone sang Christmas carols. Our main reason for going was the fireworks show.

We live nearby the Harbour and whenever there are fireworks we can hear them and see reflections on the buildings nearby. I wanted SPie to see the fireworks for herself so she'll understand what it is the next time we hear them (with the warm weather it seems like there are fireworks at every big event on the harbour). Overall she did ok, but they were too loud. She spent most of the time hiding her face and repeating, "I'm ok. I'm fine." The next morning one of the first things she said was, "No more fireworks." It was a short show, so I don't think we've scared her off fireworks forever, but I doubt she'll want to go outside the next time we hear them.

Vanuatu

2007-11-29T19:13:00.000-06:00

Every now and then we have to leave the country and re-enter, so a few weeks ago we spent a long weekend in Vanuatu. The country is an archipelago of 80+ islands and just gained it’s independence in 1980 (prior to that it was jointly governed by Britain and France). We stayed on the main island of Efate at a resort called Le Lagon.

For some unknown reason, we were upgraded to an ocean front room. Across from our patio were stairs leading right into the water. From the beach chairs outside our door, we saw a wedding at the waters edge. The site was perfect, so the wedding pictures must be gorgeous. I’m guessing Vanuatu (or at least our resort) is a big wedding destination since we saw at least 2 wedding parties on each of the weekend nights we were there.

This was a vacation to relax. The weather was hot and sunny and everyday we did nothing but eat, sleep and chase SPie around the 4 swimming pools at the resort.

Right outside our room:

The wedding (view from our patio):

These wood carvings were very cool. I think the base was part of a tree stump:

Ahh:

Starfish in the Lagoon:

View of our room from above:

And The Winner Is...

2007-11-25T06:39:00.000-06:00

Kevin Rudd for Australia’s Prime Minister.

Natalie Gauci for Australian Idol.

This was a big election weekend; Saturday was the Government election and Sunday was the Idol finale.

Fun Facts about the Australian Government:

It’s compulsory for eligible citizens to vote. Failure to vote results in a fine.

Australia uses a Preferential Voting System. If you don’t know (as I didn’t), preferential voting is when you rank candidates in order of preference. If your first choice is knocked out of the race, your vote goes towards your second choice. This continues until the winner is determined.

Australia is a parliamentary style of government. The citizen’s vote the candidates to Parliament, then the government votes for the Prime Minister.

There is a political party called “What Women Want”. I have no idea if they have anyone in political office, but the name cracks me up.

An election for Prime Minister must be held at least every 3 years.

The former Prime Minister, John Howard, was the PM for 11 years (the 2nd longest serving PM in Australia). He was head of the Liberal Party and ran under the Coalition, which is a joining of the Liberal and National Parties.

Kevin Rudd is part of the Labour Party.

Rudd’s major agenda items are:
1. Ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The papers like to point out this will leave the US as the only major industrialized nation not to do so.
2. Withdraw 550 Australian troops from Iraq.
3. Put more money into education.
4. Remove the workplace agreements.

(Legal) Betting on the election paid AU$3.70 for a $1 bet that Howard would be re-elected.

During campaigning, a news story broke that while in the US, Kevin Rudd got drunk and visited a strip club in NYC. Campaign analysts have said this story actually helped Rudd and made him seem more approachable and more like the “common man”. I think it's pathetic that this came out as a news story and even worse that it helped his campaign.

Fun Facts about Natalie Gauci:

Her 26th birthday is tomorrow (Nov 26th). A recording contract is an amazing birthday present!

She’s from Melbourne.

She used to sing with a Jazz group.

She plays piano and writes her own songs.

The winner’s single is titled Here I Am and is available as a download now. It will be in stores on Wednesday (Nov 28th).

The Winners Journey album and DVD will be in Australian stores on December 8th.

Natalie starts the Australian Idol Tour on January 2nd.

(Legal) Betting paid AU$2.35 for a $1 bet on Natalie versus AU$1.57 for a $1 bet on her competition, Matt Corby.

She was my personal favorite from the first episode. (What can I say… when you don’t have cable, there isn’t much TV to watch.)

The judges had negative things to say about her wardrobe choices and I agree with some of their comments. I hope Sony gets her a good stylist.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T14:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Gold Coast

2007-11-14T07:08:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we spent a long weekend at Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast. I found it tacky and noisy. After I returned from my trip, my Australian boss said it reminds him of the really touristy areas of Florida. Personally, I think it’s worse.

I might have a better impression of Surfer’s Paradise if we had stayed in a nicer place. Our hotel was a dump. Wouldn't you know this is the first trip that I booked through a travel agent and pre-paid for. If we hadn’t prepaid for the room, I would have checked out and moved further up the coast. The unit was a “serviced” apartment, but there was no “service” at all. The place was in desperate need of a renovation to pull it out of the 70’s and the amenities were horrible. The room came with two bath towels and a bath mat. I asked for a third towel for SPie as well as hand towels and washcloths. They said there would be a charge for a third bath towel and if I wanted hand towels and washcloths I should have brought them from home. (Nice customer service!) We were getting low on toilet paper, so I asked the desk if we could get another roll. They wouldn’t give it to me; however if I wanted to purchase more, it would be $1.15/roll! The receptionist kept telling me “that’s how all serviced apartments work”. We stayed at serviced apartments in Cairns and in New Zealand and never had any problems. We had all the towels and free toilet paper that we needed!

There are a lot of theme parks in the Gold Coast. We went to Dreamworld because it has Wiggles World and a Nick Central for SPie’s age group. She went on most of the age appropriate rides, but we skipped a few because the lines were so long. SPie’s favorite ride was the train that goes around the park. We went on that twice. I find it amazing how much she loves anything that goes; cars, boats, trains, and especially helicopters.

Dreamworld advertises the “largest interactive tiger facility outside the United States”, so I had big expectations for Tiger Island. There are 2 tiger shows a day. We missed one show and left the other because the crowds were too big to see anything (it's a bad design for viewing). We did see the tigers, but it wasn’t as exciting as I expected. Overall, Dreamworld was ok, but for the money spent ($$$), it was disappointing.

The next day we drove to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. This was worth the trip. The zoo is huge and the animals seem to have plenty of room to move around. As you might expect, there were a lot of crocodiles and alligators. We even saw a baby croc (8 weeks old). Most of the animals were awake and active, especially the tigers. There were 2 tigers in the enclosure play-fighting with each other. They were in and out of the water, running around the enclosure, roaring, and swatting at each other. That was very cool to see. This zoo is also the first place that I've seen a Tasmanian Devil on the move (at the other zoos the devils were sleeping).

After the zoo, we drove to see the Big Pineapple. I first heard about the “big” sculptures when I read Bill Bryson’s book In a Sunburned Country. From what I’ve read, there are random large sculptures throughout Australia and the Big Pineapple is one of them. So far, the Big Pineapple is the only one we’ve seen. This link to Wikipedia has a list of the other Big Things in Australia and elsewhere.

The Zoo and the Pineapple are North of the Gold Cost in the Sunshine Coast. From the little bit that we saw, it seems like a much nicer area. If you ever visit, stay on the Sunshine Coast and make a day trip or a single overnight to Surfer’s Paradise. Unless you’re in your early 20’s, I don’t see a need to spend too much time on the Gold Coast.

8 week old crocodile:

Tasmanian Devil:

Tigers:

Tigers Playing:

The Big Pineapple:

P.S. Since I originally wrote this post, it's been school holidays. Apparently Surfer's Paradise is "the" destination for drunken students (which doesn't surprise me at all). The last report I saw had 128 students arrested in Surfer's Paradise.

Overzealous Photography

2007-11-14T06:01:00.000-06:00

I think I’m getting out of control with the pictures. Last weekend we went to the Australia Zoo (more about that later). As soon as we turned into the parking lot, SPie was sick. We immediately pulled over and took her and the car seat out of the car. When I opened the diaper bag to find something to clean her up with, I saw the camera and decided to stop and take a picture of her! It only took a second, I didn’t ask her to pose, she wasn’t crying or hurt or in any danger, her Dad was taking care of her and I did clean her up right after, but still, I cannot believe I did that! So, since I have this picture, I might as well share it, right?? (Poor SPie!)

By the way, she was fine the rest of the day and enjoyed the zoo. We think she might have been a little motion sick.

Classic Ending

2007-11-06T01:00:00.000-06:00

Horse racing is very popular in Australia and today was one of the big races, the Melbourne Cup. The Sydney area horse racing industry was crushed this year due to a horse flu that caused most of the horses to be quarantined for the season. However, Sydneysiders were still excited about the Cup and the race received all day media coverage, a parade, fireworks and various events throughout the city.

My company rented a tent in the Domain and we all went and had lunch and drinks in the park. It was very civilized with men in suits and black tie and women in heels and hats with feathers! There was a fashion contest (all the big races seem to have them), but it was raining, so it didn’t receive too much attention. Who wants to strut their stuff on a wet runway!

As the race started, there was a downpour so everyone huddled under the tent to watch the broadcast on the large outdoor screen. As the horses were in the last 100 meters, the live feed went down and we missed the finish!

A Wash Out

2007-11-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

The bad thing about our car share it that you can only cancel a reservation 48 hours in advance. On Tuesday we booked the car for Saturday and planned to drive up to the Blue Mountains and look around. On Thursday night we saw the weather was going to be rainy and wanted to cancel the car, but it was too late. Saturday morning it was cloudy in Sydney, but not actually raining, so we decided to keep with our plan.

We stopped at a Burger King for lunch on the way. I let SPie go on the hamster maze and she decided to go all the way to the top. There was a little helicopter up there and she LOVES helicopters. For about 30 minutes we couldn't get her to come down. I'm not sure if she was afraid to climb down (at one point she yelled out "Mommy, where are you?") or if she just wanted to play. In the end, I had to climb into the silly thing and bring her down. In hindsight, we should have called it quits then, but we continued on.

As soon as we hit the Blue Mountains region we were in the fog (really we were in the actual clouds). Since we had driven so far, we went to a lookout in Wentworth Falls and confirmed there was too much cloud cover to see anything. We turned around and headed for home!

This is the hamster maze. That bubble at the very top is the helicopter that SPie was in. The only way up is through the "bubble arms" on the side - which I did climb in... ugh...

Cubby House Weekend

2007-11-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

The weekend of September 28th was a long weekend in Sydney, so we went on a trip. We stayed at a great farm-stay called the Cubby House about 3 ½ hours outside of Sydney. The views of the Capertee Valley and the mountains were amazing. On Saturday we went to the Jenolan Caves, Sunday we went to the Western Australia Zoo in Dubbo and on Monday we stopped at the Zig Zag Railway on the way home.

(Pictures are at the bottom!)

The Cubby House

I would call the Cubby House a mountain retreat. It’s at the end of a long country road with no visible neighbors (accept the owner’s house) and has really amazing views. The official website for the property is here, but this site has better pictures.

We arrived at the Cubby House late Friday night. With 2 kms to go before arriving at the cabin, we had to go through a closed gate. I’ve learned that the gate is to keep the cows from straying off the property and is common on farms. Being from the developed suburbs, I’ve never had to get out my car and open a gate to continue down a road. At 11:00 pm, in a strange and dark place with no cell phone coverage I was a little nervous about this. I kept thinking we were at the wrong property and some farmer was going to come after us with a shotgun or that this was a scam to lure “city folk” to the country and make stew out of them!

All my worrying was put aside when we saw the place lit up for our arrival. Even late at night we could see the gorgeous views. To give you some idea of what we were looking at, the Capertee Valley is said to be the second largest valley in the world; the Grand Canyon is the first. In addition to the great view out on the land, the night sky was amazing all weekend. The first night gave us a large, bright, almost full moon and the second night the sky was full of stars. The owners were telling us they have regular guests that bring their telescopes to check out the stars.

Our last day of our visit, the owners drove us around for a tour of the 1030 acre property. Yes, I did say 1,030 acres. The owners have 2 young children and SPie had fun running around the sheep pen with them. She also had a great time chasing the chickens into their enclosure. Another thing I learned is that chickens are nervous little things and don’t like to be chased. (I’m learning so much here!) One highlight of the tour was viewing a large stone that has naturally formed in the shape of a face. It’s similar to the “Old Man on The Mountain” that was in New Hampshire. They showed us another rock that was supposed to look like a teapot, but I couldn’t see it. The face was much better. The owners obviously love the land and enjoy having visitors. If we had more time here, we would definitely stay again.

Jenolan Caves

In true Australian style, the limestone caves are linked to convicts. The story is that a farmer discovered the caves when he went looking for a cattle thief who was known to have used the caves as a hideout.

The caves cover a large area and are deep underground. I don’t think it would be possible to visit all of them in one weekend. We toured two of the caves including one with a “cathedral” area where concerts and weddings are held. We actually saw a bride heading to the cave for her wedding. The cave also had a water pool and various cool “stalactite formations” (Don’t ask me what it means…you’ll have to look it up like I did.) We took some pictures, but the images don’t capture the reality. You’ll just have to visit the caves yourself.

Western Plains Zoo

The locals call this the Dubbo Zoo because it’s in the town of Dubbo; about 5-6 hours drive from Sydney. The admission tickets are good for two days, so you could make a weekend trip of the zoo and the few other sites nearby.

The zoo is built with an open range design that is meant to create the impression of being in the wild with the animals. Instead of the animals living in walled enclosures and viewed through cages, they are roaming in the grasslands and water habitats and are separated from the public and from each other by moats and other non-obtrusive methods. We did see a lot of fencing separating the tigers from each other. I’m ok with that.

The layout follows a 7 km loop with walking trails in the middle and is designed for visitors to drive or ride bikes between the exhibits. Bicycles and golf carts are available for rental, but the families in the know have a better plan; arrive early, park for free along the road across the street from the zoo, take your own bike in, pack lunch in a cooler pulled behind the bike. It is a great way to see a zoo.

SPie touched a tortoise and enjoyed looking at the animals, but I think she loved watching the bicycles and visiting the playground even more.

Zig Zag Railway

The Zig Zag Railway is a coal burning steam train that follows a section of the original path of the railway built in 1869. The purpose for the railway was to bring the produce from the Blue Mountain areas to Sydney. To make the trip down the steep mountains, the tracks were laid in the shape of a “Z” with reversing stations at various points.

Sherp was talking with one of the train employees and they let him move the track for our train!

Moving the train track:

The cows in the road - the one's we closed the gate for!

View of Capertee Valley from our farm stay

Sunrise at the Farm Stay:

Rock Face at the Farm Stay:

The tiger at Dubbo Zoo:

Patting the tortise:

A rhino doing what everything in nature does (aaahhh)"

Inside the caves - looks like jellyfish!

Olympic Park

2007-10-15T21:06:00.001-05:00

We had a great day at the Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this visit as much as I did. The city has done a great job of creating biking/hiking paths throughout the area and making it a fun recreational place. We rented bicycles from the visitors center and rode around for 4 hours!!! This was the first time in a bicycle carrier seat and she did great. We stopped to eat and to visit a playground. SPie was so excited to be on the bike she didn't want to play for long. After biking we spent some time at the aquatic center. We enjoyed two different kids pools and a "river wave".

I'm really sounding like a Greenie on this blog which isn't my intention, so I won't go into detail, BUT... if you are interested in the "green" aspects of the park, check out this link. You'll be glad to know that the environmentally friendly steps that were taken for the Olympics continue today (recycled water, renewable energy, recycling, diverse ecological communities).

SPie didn't want her picture taken...

The pools:

Punishment

2007-10-10T03:28:00.000-05:00

My apartment building was without water for about 18 hours starting last night. It was pretty gross... no water for cleaning the dinner dishes, bathing or for the bathroom. Plus, SPie was miserable with a cold so no one slept much.

I think I'm being punished for writing an entire post about water restrictions.

Go Tribe!

2007-10-08T23:23:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Indians on beating the Yankees.

I'm not the baseball fan, so I cannot elaborate further. I can say, thank goodness for the internet so we can at least get the scores and highlights! The games are on Foxtel (cable TV), but we don't have Foxtel, so Sherp is out of luck.

Water Restrictions

2007-10-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned water restrictions. Due to the drought, water conservation is a major issue in Australia and every state has their own set of restrictions. Some are highly detailed, like the 34 page PDF from the state of Queensland.

Comparing the restrictions here to what I have at home in the states is an apples to oranges comparison, but I've done it anyway. I couldn't find the information for my hometown or for the closest city, but I did find restrictions for a neighbouring town.

Restrictions for New South Wales:

Hand-held hosing of lawns and gardens and drip irrigation is now allowed only on Wednesdays and Sundays before 10 am and after 4 pm
No other watering systems or sprinklers are to be used at any time
A permit from Sydney Water is required to fill new or renovated pools bigger than 10,000 litres
No hosing of hard surfaces including vehicles at any time
No hoses or taps to be left running unattended, except when filling pools or containers
Fire hoses must only be used for fire fighting purposes – not for cleaning.
Recycled water, bore water and water used for testing fire systems, fire fighting and related activities are excluded from restrictions.

A fine of $220 applies for all breaches of Level 3 restrictions by individuals. The Water Restrictions Patrol is carrying out random audits to ensure compliance with the new exemption conditions.
Corporations now face a fine of $550 for each breach. Fines for water theft have risen to $2,200.
The following are still permitted at any time:

Using a bucket or watering can to wash and rinse vehicles or water lawns and gardens.
Topping up any existing swimming pool.
Filling a pool less than 10,000L capacity.
Using water from a rainwater tank, as long as it is not connected to or topped up from Sydney Water mains.
Using a hose with a trigger nozzle or high pressure cleaning device to clean boat bilges and boat trailer brakes and wheels.
Using a hose to flush boat engines.
Cleaning garbage bins using a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or with an on/off switch.
Cleaning garbage bins should be done within an official bin wash area or on grass.

Restrictions for Queensland:

No watering of established lawns with town water.
Watering of established gardens is allowed 3 days a week between 4 and 7 pm only. (The day of week depends on your house number). The watering must be done with a bucket, watering can or other approved device and not from a hand held hose (unless you’ve been given a concession due to age, medical reasons, etc).
Watering of newly established lawns and gardens is allowed by hand held hose for 1 hour on the day of establishment and for 1 hour between 4 am and 7 am or 4 pm and 7 pm for 14 days after the date of establishment (receipt of installation is required).
New and renovated pools and spas require approval for filling with town water.
You may top up an existing pool or spa between 4 pm and 7 pm on your 3 watering days per week if one of the conditions below applies:

The premises has a rainwater tank or downpipe rainwater diverter installed and connected to the pool.
All available water from the rainwater tank or downpipe rainwater diverter is used to top up the pool or spa prior to using town water.
The premises also complies with three of the following four measures.

A swimming pool or spa cover is used to cover the pool or spa when not in use.
All showerheads, kitchen basin taps and bathroom basin taps on the premises are water efficient.
All toilets on the premises are water efficient.
Only water efficient washing machines are used on the premises.

Town water is not to be used for play pools water toys.
Town water is not to be used for outdoor showers.
Town water is not to be used for cleaning vehicles (including boats and caravans) except:

Where water is used from a bucket filled directly from a tap to:

Clean only vehicle mirrors, vehicle lights, glass and number plates to maintain safe operation and satisfy number plate visibility requirements; or
Clean such other parts of a vehicle as required to comply with statutory or regulatory obligations; or
Spot clean the body of a vehicle to remove potentially paint damaging marks; or
To flush an inboard or outboard motor or vehicle brakes to prevent corrosion and maintain safe operation

General outdoor cleaning of materials and equipment is only allowed when it is needed to prevent or otherwise address a material health or safety risk.

Restrictions for my neighbouring town in the US:

Lawn watering is limited to two days per week with no watering on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Hand held hoses may be used for flower and vegetable gardens without hour or day restrictions.

Green Ideas

2007-10-05T02:46:00.000-05:00

Lately I’ve noticed an increase in information about “green living”. There are government messages on TV, newsletters coming in the mail, seminars at work, and I’ve stumbled upon a few blogs with “green” living ideas. I have co-workers that bicycle to work, have their laundry water redirected out to their lawn and gardens (they use earth-friendly cleaners in the laundry), and have "save a tree - think before printing" messages attached to their emails. All of this exposure to conservation ideas has made us think about changes we can make.

We have done a few things here, but more for our own convenience than because we are thinking of the environment. For example, we are basically car-free, but that is because we’re in Australia for such a short time. We purchased reusable grocery bags because the plastic bags just don’t hold up for the walk home from the store and the reusable bags hold more, so the number of bags we carry is less. A dual flush toilet came with the apartment, so we conserve toilet water by default.

The dual-flush is the first "green" thing we experienced in Australia that we thought of doing at home. It’s such a simple way to conserve water. Once it’s installed, there is nothing to do but use it. No effort, no change in lifestyle, and yet it’s a positive change. Some other big changes we are thinking of making are installing a rainwater collection tank to use for our lawn and installing solar panels for energy. I’m also thinking about riding a bike to work when the weather allows. My office is close enough and I can shower at the gym across the street from work. The big problem for me is getting to work on time. It would require a major change in my habits to leave the house in time to ride to work, shower at the gym and make it to the office on time. I’m attached to my sleep, so this is something I really need to have a think about.

According to an Australian government website, an average Australian household generates about 14 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. To help decrease this number, the government created a “climate clever” campaign. Below are the suggestions for decreasing household greenhouse gas emissions.

turn off the water
turn down the thermostat
use shutters to block out the sun and cut down on air conditioning
use energy efficient light bulbs
shut power off at the switch
use phosphate and nitrate free cleaning products
don’t leave your electronics on stand-by
use water based paints
eat locally grown foods
wash full loads of clothes and only use cold water
dry clothes outside rather than in the dryer
re-use and recycle whenever possible
take shorter showers (3-4 minutes)
compost non-meat food and feed them to a worm farm
check for good air circulation around the coils at the back of the fridge
fix dripping taps
install a water efficient showerhead
use solar-powered garden lights
check that the seals are clean so the fridge door closes properly
switch off your second fridge
inflate car tires to the maximum recommended pressure for increased fuel efficiency
use energy efficient appliances
use climate-friendly building design and landscaping
car share or use fuel efficient cars
install double glazed windows to keep the heat out during the summer and in during the winter
Eat more vegetarian meals to cut down on the land required to be cleared for grazing
Put lids on saucepans and don’t boil more water than you need – both will use less energy

If anyone has any ideas to add, I would love to hear them.

This is a picture of a rainwater collection tank. You can see the pipe that goes from the gutter down to the tank. Most of the houses outside of the city have their own rainwater tank which helps with the water restrictions.

This is the dual flush on our toilet.

Priorities

2007-09-27T18:24:00.001-05:00

I know I've posted about my work and Friday night drinks before, but this email really makes me laugh.

All,
As you know Friday night drinks will be held here this evening.
Could I please ask that you throw away any old food you have left in the
fridge by 11am today. This is to make space for the beer / wine for tonight's
drinks.
Many thanks for your help

I can't imagine a US company asking the employees to remove their food so the fridge could be stocked with alcohol. It's really the little differences like this that are the most amusing.

Don't Jump

2007-09-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday Sherp actually had 4 hours away from SPie. We determined this is the longest waking time he has had to himself since we arrived in Sydney in May. That would drive some people to drastic measures, so I find it appropriate that he used his free time to climb to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I'm very glad that he did not jump. In fact, he couldn't jump if he wanted to because he was tethered to the bridge along with 12 other people.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb is a very cool, but somewhat expensive excursion. There are stairs on the bridge and you actually walk to the very top while the cars and trains continue to drive underneath and the boats are further below. According to the website, the climb brings you 134 meters above the harbour. That's about 439 feet high. Sherp said the views are great as you might imagine.

Here's a shot of random people on the bridge that I took from one of the ferry boats. You have to look close because they are so small. There are two groups (one is a little spread out) on the very top part of the bridge.

This is the same shot of the entire bridge.

Here's Sherp striking a pose on the catwalk. The boats below are a lot farther down than they look.

Somthing Nice About Work

2007-09-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

Since I had a negative comment about work yesterday, I feel I should say something positive today.

1. The people that work for my client are great. They are intelligent and easy going. No one takes anything too serious, but the work gets done.

2. Most days a big box of fresh fruit is delivered for everyone to share. I appreciate this so much more than the free soda at my office in the states.

3. Each month the company buys cakes to celebrate the birthdays in that month. My first two "real" jobs celebrated birthdays, but everyone in the office pitched in to buy the cake.

4. Each Friday an email is sent to everyone with a location for Friday Night Drinks. I don't go, but I think it's nice that everyone is invited.

Busy Work

2007-09-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

Today I was asked to determine the following statistics for my team. The questions are from a very senior person who wants to use the stats in a meeting.

1. The number of documents produced
2. The number of pages produced
3. The number of lines of code produced

It took a developer an hour to go through all the procedures and determine the number of lines of code and it took me a half hour to determine the number of pages produced. Multiply that by 4 teams and that is 6 hours of wasted time. And this doesn't include the wasted time spent in emails from the top down until it reached the people that will actually do the work.

These numbers are meaningless. Just because a project has 100* documents and 10,000* lines of code doesn't mean that it's going well or that things are efficient. I would much rather spend my time on something that produces a result that is worthwhile.

*not the actual numbers

The Baby's Baby

2007-09-12T23:23:00.001-05:00

Last week SPie received a lovely surprise in the mail - a baby doll and stroller. She is having a great time pushing the stroller around the apartment and taking care of her baby. This morning I came out of the bathroom to find SPie singing Rock-A-Bye-Baby to the baby. It was so cute!

The strollers

A hug for the baby

PSA

2007-09-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

This is your friendly Public Service Announcement.

If you are travelling to another country, it would be a good idea to learn how to contact emergency services.

I was in a meeting and the man next to me passed out. I was so glad there were other people around because I would have had no idea how to call the paramedics. Plus, I thought he was just falling asleep because it was a boring meeting, so it's really good someone else saw it too!

In Australia 0-0-0 is equivalent to 9-1-1 in the States. If you know an emergency number for another country, feel free to leave it in the comments!

P.S. My co-worker is fine. He passed out due to low blood sugar and didn't even go to the hospital.

Tropical Queensland

2007-09-09T20:04:00.000-05:00

It's going to sound like complaining, but I'm really not. We had a nice weekend, but it wasn't what I expected. In my mind we were going to have more of a resort vacation than what we actually had. If I remove the unmet expectations, we did have a good weekend.

We went to the state of Queensland which is in Northern Australia and much more tropical than Sydney. We stayed in the outskirts of the city of Cairns (pronounced "cans"). As one of my co-workers told me after I returned, "it's a bit dodgy." It's a beach community, but not a resort community. There are restaurants and shops and it's ok to spend a day, but you don't need to be there too long.

On the positive side, there is a great playground on the Esplanade called Muddy's. It didn't take long to find out why it's called Muddy's. There are water hoses in sand pits in the toddler section. What could be more fun to a 2 year old than getting the dirt and sand wet and making mud pies? Nothing! There are also water sprayers to run through which are great for the hot weather. The locals had their kids dressed in swim suits, but we are tourists and were totally unprepared. SPie got a few bumps and bruises from the zip line - her forehead had a nasty meeting with the pole attached to the seat when she hit the end of the line and her nose was bleeding after she ran into the seat in her excitement to get on it. None of this takes away from the slides, swings, and ropes which she had a great time climbing all over.

On the negative side, the Esplanade area of Cairns doesn't really have a beach. There is a long boardwalk along the water, but there is a good mile or two of muddy, grassy, somewhat swampy area between the boardwalk and where the ocean really starts. I'm guessing this is where the Muddy's playground got it's name. There was a man made public swimming "lagoon" with sand which looked great, but it's not the same as a natural sandy beach.

If I were to do it again, I would stay in Port Douglas or Palm Cove or one of the other local resort destinations.

On Saturday we did a tour that included a ride on a scenic railway up into the Kurunda rainforest village and a skyrail tram back down. The train is lovely and SPie enjoyed it. I was looking forward to the the skyrail tram and it didn't disappoint. I appreciate that the skyrail is a way to view the forest without doing any damage to the area and the views are great. The tram makes two stops on the way down the mountain where you have the option of getting off and walking along boardwalk paths to lookout spots to a waterfall and the forest valley.

If I had more time, I would have also liked to hike one of the Daintree trails. The tour we did was good and I recommend it, but it definitely wasn't an "up close and personal" type of experience.

Between the railway up and the skyrail down, we explored the village of Kurunda. It's a pleasant area with shops, restaurants and a few attractions. The shops seemed to be slightly less expensive or comparable in prices to other areas we've been to. There were more artist shops than we've seen in other areas which is a nice relief from the general tourist wares. There was one clothing and gift store called Serendiva full of bright colorful woven items from Sri Lanka. The fabrics were beautiful. I was "this close" to buying a nice bright beach bag, but I just couldn't justify the price when I already have so many bags - including a few I don't use.

Our day-tour included a visit to three attractions in the village; a butterfly sanctuary, a bird sanctuary and a koala garden. The butterfly sanctuary was great. SPie kept putting her hand out for one to land on her. When two butterflies did land on her she froze, then shook them off. They landed on her head and her shirt and I think that just wasn't what she expected. On her hand would be ok, but on her head wasn't as great.

I'm not a big fan of birds, but I thought the Birdworld was pretty good. If you like birds, it was probably great.

The Koala Garden had some cool crocs and lizards and an adorable baby koala. When babies are young, they sit on their mother's backs. The care taker was telling us this little baby had just started wandering on her own last week. She was pulling at the tree leaves, but wasn't old enough to eat them. She was really adorable, but she stayed hidden in the leaves, so we couldn't get a good picture of her. There were a few kangaroos and wallabies that could be hand fed, but they weren't hungry or active. It was very hot, so they were probably smart to just relax in the shade.

At the hotel we went swimming late in the day on Friday and after sunset on Saturday night. SPie was more into it Saturday night and even jumped underwater - not once, but twice! Both times I was right there to lift her out. Her fearlessness is good, but it also makes me a little nervous at times.

We ended the weekend by visiting the Botanic Gardens in the morning before our flight home. SPie was on the lookout for butterflies everywhere, so the butterfly sanctuary definitely made an impression on her.

One thing we didn't do was an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. The tours were long and not exactly toddler friendly, so we decided it was best to skip it.

It was a good weekend, but I think this is one area we'll need to revisit when SPie is a little older (or maybe when she's away at summer camp). Maybe by then I'll be in need of a new beach bag too.

Butterfly on SPie's shirt (It was a coincidence that she was wearing a butterfly shirt!)

View from the skyrail.

View down - you can see the cables that the skyrail rides on:

The scenic railway train:

Bush Week

2007-09-05T20:20:00.000-05:00

I took my title from a newspaper headline I saw. The President's visit is a big deal here. News stories talk about the 600 + people from the US including Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State), 5 chefs, 100+ secret service, 5 sniffer dog teams, aids, advisers and the journalists that travel with the President. There was a segment in the news about a military mobile command center in a jet that sits ready to respond in case of an emergency.

The security is amazing and it seems to be only for the US leader. The Australian PM has about 2 security guards when he moves. Someone told me that only the US security is allowed to carry weapons.

The President took a 5 minute cruise across Sydney harbour to Kirribilli house to have dinner with the Australian Prime Minister last night. The boat was flanked with security and before they went, divers checked the waters.

My client's main building overlooks the hotel that the President is staying at. Snipers are clearly visible on the roof of the hotel. They are also visible from some of the helicopters that follow the motorcade. We've all seen snipers on the news and on TV, but one coworker was a little rattled by actually seeing them outside the window from the meeting room. Personally, the most I've seen is the end of a motorcade, the traffic jams and the helicopters in the sky.

So far things have been peaceful. I've heard there is a protest scheduled for Saturday, but it may be a peaceful one. No matter what, we won't be here for it. We are leaving town in about an hour to visit the rainforest.

Have a great weekend!

APEC

2007-09-03T21:57:00.000-05:00

APEC is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The 2007 conference is here in Sydney this week; 21 world leaders including President Bush.

The government is expecting violent protests, so there is security everywhere in the CBD. Last week I saw police helicopters everyday on my way home, plus additional police patrols. Big fences and concrete barriers have been put up around some areas - including the convention center near SPie's favorite playground (ugh!!!). Street light poles have been equipped with security cameras and loud speakers and my office building has a security guard for the week. Fortunately, my building isn't right in the middle of it. My client's main building is, but I have no need to go there this week.

I don't follow the news because I find it depressing, but I did hear that some protestors were arrested for spray painting some sort of protest text on some wall. Just now I received this email from my employer:

Planned Protest Activity This Evening
Police have advised that the Stop the War Coalition is planning a protest outside Sydney Town Hall or Railway Square from 5pm today which could possibly move in the direction of Macquarie Street.
If you are planning to leave the CBD around that time, we suggest that you avoid the Sydney Town Hall and Railway Square areas, if possible, and stay alert to any protest activity that could move to the Macquarie Street vicinity.

It's a little frightening! My walk home takes me about 2 blocks from there and that is close enough for me. I usually cut through the subway station, but perhaps I'll take the long scenic walk tonight. Or maybe a cab?

The good news is that Friday has been declared a holiday to limit the number of people in the CBD area. I've also taken Thursday off, so we'll have a nice long weekend. Out of town.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-29T00:44:00.000-05:00

There was a lunar eclipse last night. We tried to take pictures from our balcony, but they didn't come out. This article has a good shot.

Was there an eclipse where you are? I have no idea if this was only visible in the southern hemisphere or if everyone could see it.

Water Cooler Conversation

2007-08-27T21:02:00.001-05:00

I've never worked at a place where the water cooler conversation revolves around the best way to shoot various animals and how the animal reacts. This isn't for hunting, they are talking about shooting farm animals for food.

GoGet

2007-08-24T02:51:00.001-05:00

We had rented a car for our first weekend away and the return process turned out to be a bit of a hassle. The rental place closes in the early afternoon on Sunday. If you don’t have the car back by the time the office closes, you have to leave the car in the adjacent parking garage and pay the garage fees. We also forgot about refuelling, so we were hit with a refuelling fee. Long and short, we paid about an extra day of rental between the fuel fee and the garage charge.

To avoid all of this, we decided to join a car share called GoGet. We pay a monthly membership fee and we have access to a number of cars throughout the city. When we need a car we go online or call into an automated system and reserve it. We are charged by the hour and by the km for the time we use the car. If we need the car for a full day, we pay a flat day rate which includes 150 kms free. Overnight hours are free, so if we take the car for the weekend, we pay two day rates and we’re done. Gas cards are included with the car, so we don’t pay for fuel and each car has it's own dedicated parking space.

The cost might be about the same or slightly less than a car rental, but it’s so easy to use that it’s worth it. Here’s a picture of our little GoGet car…

The Queen's English?

2007-08-23T02:53:00.000-05:00

Australians definitely speak English, but they’ve added their own touch. They like to shorten words and add "ie" and "o" to the end. Here are some words we’ve heard people use that we don’t use at home.

capsicum = pepper
lead = power cord
dodgy = not up to par… A dodgy neighbourhood
stock-take sale = clearance sale
take-away = To go
lay-By = Lay away
heaps = a lot… This phrase is even used on the news
massive = large… Also used on the news. “Massive amounts of rain”
pram = stroller
nappy = diaper
holiday = a vacation day… “vacation day” is not used here
on annual leave = also a vacation day
public holiday = what we would call a holiday in the US
have a think on it = think about it
give it a go = try it
how ya goin = how ya doin
good on you = good for you
have a whinge = complain/whine
check your diary = check your schedule
diarised = scheduled
petrol = gas for your car
lift = elevator
pegs = clothespins
cossie = a swimsuit
sunnies = sunglasses
zed = the letter Z
toilet = restroom…I asked someone where the restroom was and they had no idea what I was talking about. I believe they thought I wanted to lie down.
mate = pal, buddy…I’ve heard Mom’s call their children mate, co-workers call each other mate, interviewers call their subjects mate… it’s everywhere
g’day = yup, they really do say it
bloke = see mate, but bloke is a little less friendly and is usually used between men
cv = resume…short for curriculum vitae which is latin for course of life
scratchie = lottery scratch ticket
breakkie = breakfast
unie = university
doco = document
rego = registration
Jono = short nick-name for someone named Jonothan
chocos = box of chocolates
avo = avocado
Salvos = Salvation Army
brickie = a mason
truckie = truck driver
bikie = motorcycle driver
robes = closets
ensuite = a bathroom off a bedroom

They also don't repeat numbers. If someone were to give you the number "998555", they would say "double nine eight triple five".

While we’re talking about language, here are a few SPie translations.
peanut butter = any bread-like product
piecake = any dessert
milk = any liquid beverage
gum boots = rain boots. This is actually an Australian term she picked up on tv

Oakvale Farm

2007-08-22T02:44:00.000-05:00

The same day we did the Tomaree Head walk, we spent the morning at an animal farm called Oakvale Farm. This was our first experience at hand feeding kangaroos and it was great. We've been to a few other places where you can pet koalas and feed kangaroos, but so far Oakvale has been the best experience. The place was clean and well run and had swings and things for the kids. We have some great pictures of SPie with the animals. I’ll be sending an email out with the link to the snapfish album with the pictures (sorry, we’ve decided not to post pictures of SPie on the blog).

At certain times each day, the farm provides baby bottles of milk for the kids to feed the baby animals. SPie wasn’t into that. Every time she got hold of a bottle she tried to drink it herself!

Most animals roamed around freely which was great for SPie. She loved following the goats around. She was also fascinated by the kangaroo tails. She kept picking them up! Fortunately these were all mild mannered kangaroos and they didn’t seem to mind. Even when she stepped on the tails, the kangaroos didn’t seem to care. I was impressed that she got right in there with animals and wasn't afraid of them.

Although, she wasn't entirely happy with the cow. SAHF lifted her up so she could see the big cow and give it a pat. SPie had fun tickling it behind the ear, but when she stopped tickling, the cow rubbed it’s head up against her to ask for more. The push was a little too much for her liking. After that she was happy to look at the cow from a distance, but didn't want to be too close.

If you are ever in the Salt Ash area, I highly recommend checking it out!

Can't We All Get Along?

2007-08-21T02:50:00.000-05:00

On our trip to Newcastle, we stopped in the town of Stockton, which is right across the water from Newcastle, and took a ferry to the city. On the ferry back to our car, some guy started hassling SAHF about being American. He was saying random things like “Americans go home” and “We don’t want Americans in Australia.” I'm not really sure what else he had to say since I was fairly oblivious to the whole thing. SAHF did his best, "you talking to me?" and the guy settled down and that was the end of it. However, it was an unfortunate incident in an otherwise really great weekend.

Tilligery and Tomaree

2007-08-18T17:30:00.000-05:00

Day 2 we started towards Tomaree National Park in Port Stephens to hike up Tomaree Head. On the way we saw an interesting looking flight of stairs built into the side of a hill called Tilligery Lookout. Curiosity got the best of me and we stopped for a walk up. When we reached the top there were a few trails leading in different directions, but it wasn't a great lookout.

I read somewhere that Tilligery means “pelican”. We didn't see any pelicans at (or from) the lookout, but we did meet a few when we stopped for lunch. We ate outside at a beach at Lemon Tree Passage and within minutes of setting the food down we were surrounded by 4 - 5 pelicans. Pelicans are big birds. It was a little creepy, so we didn't stay too long.

Finally we made it to Tomaree and did the walk up Tomaree Head. There were great views of Port Stephens and some outlying wildlife preserve islands. We could also see down to Zenith beach at the bottom and saw dolphins swimming! Half way down the hill, we took a detour to check out some World War II gun emplacements. One of the emplacements had a bunk area attached to it where the soldiers stayed between lookouts.

After the hike down we went to Zenith Beach to have a look. By the time we got there the dolphins were gone, but SPie had fun playing in the sand and chasing the water off the beach back out to sea.

Some of the pictures in the random flicker set at the top of the blog are from Tomaree and Tilligery Lookout, so I haven't added pictures to this post.

Our First Weekend Away

2007-08-18T02:09:00.000-05:00

The trip to see the Pasha Bulker was a weekend event that included animals, hiking and our first try at driving on the “wrong side” of the road.

Friday night we rented a car and SAHF drove us up to Anna Bay which is about 3 hours North of Sydney. I left work a little early, but we still got stuck in gridlock trying to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge. After a stop for dinner and several phone calls to the farm manager for directions (I had left the directions sitting on my desk at work), we made it to our destination in about 5 hours. SAHF did well driving even with my helpful “look out!” and “slow down!” interjections.

It a funny thing… we’ve noticed that when driving, we say left when we mean right and vice-versa. Also, the wind shield wiper control is on the opposite side. We keep turning on the wipers when we mean to turn on the directional. Another thing that was confusing me was the speed limit signs. On the highway the sign says “100” which I immediately think of as 100 mph, but it's really 100 km/h. 100 km/hour is only about 62 mph.

We stayed at a farmstay called Sahara Trails. This is a working horse farm with a few self contained units and one dorm/backpacker type of room. In our unit, we had two bedrooms (one queen bed, and one with bunk beds), a living room, a kitchen area, a full bathroom and a front porch. Outside our door was a community picnic area with a grill and beyond that was a horse paddock. I thought it was great, but it’s definitely rustic and not where you want to go if you are looking for luxury.

Due to the flooding the week before, the paddock looked more like a lake. I woke up early the first morning as the sun was coming up and was greeted with a peaceful scene of horses ambling along the fence of the paddock. I tried to get a picture of it, but it came out too dark. I’ve posted it below anyway.

Sahara Trails is run by a very nice family. They told us about a great hike at Tomaree National Park in Port Stephens. More about that tomorrow!

The first set of stairs was our unit - the one at the end of my shadow.

A horse at dawn. It's bending down eating something on the ground.
You'll just have to believe me that it was a great scene to wake up to!

One of the farm dogs that SPie LOVED:

Pasha

2007-08-17T01:56:00.000-05:00

The weekend of June 8th a 40,000 tonne ship ran aground on Nobby's Beach, a public beach about 2 hours north of Sydney in the city of Newcastle. This was the story of the hour for weeks. There is a great article on wikipedia that describes how it all unfolded. Thousands of people went to Newcastle to check out the sight… and we were 3 of them!

It was amazing to see. The ship is absolutely huge and it was sitting right there on the beach. I mean RIGHT THERE... it was ridiculous how close it was to the shore. The side of the ship that faced the beach was fairly protected from the waves, but the other side was taking a beating.

After a couple of attempts, rescue crews were able to move the ship out to sea again, but when we visited no one knew if it would be possible. Many people expected the ship to be part of the permanent landscape. That would have been horrible; it would have completely ruined a great looking beach!

Extreme Weather

2007-08-16T01:31:00.000-05:00

When you think "Australia", what do you think of? Maybe kangaroos? Koalas? The Great Barrier Reef? Whatever it is, I would guess the image includes sunshine; yes? Me too!

Well, when we arrived in May, Sydney was in the last official month of autumn and the weather was perfect. The sun was shining and the days were in the high 60’s. As we headed into June the air turned a bit cooler, but the sun was still beaming. Then things changed.

It started to rain sometime in early June and it's still raining! According to my co-workers, this is one of the coldest winters anyone remembers. If you ask them when the rain will end, they don't know because they haven't had weather like this before. There was even frost! At 3.7°C (about 39°F), July 17th was the coldest day recorded in Sydney in 21 years!

Most of the country has been in a multi-year drought, so I really shouldn't be complaining. This is winter and we are from New England. Watching rain fall is always easier than shovelling 3 feet of snow. Plus, even though playground time has been limited, this has been a great opportunity to teach SPie to sing "rain rain go away".

On the positive side, August seems to be improving a bit. We've had at least one good day each weekend and some beautiful weekdays. This week there were a few days that rained for just half the day. This is good, but not ideal since everything is still wet. SPie had a quick swim in a big puddle during an outing on Wednesday. Fortunately Dad had her in a long raincoat, so only half the outfit needed to be changed.

I'm hoping August showers bring clear skies along with September flowers!

G'Day Mate!

2007-08-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

Here we are 3 1/2 months into our 8 month stay in Sydney and I'm already forgetting some of things that we did when we arrived! So, Piecake is here for us to save and share our trip.

The name comes from SPie. It's what she calls dessert and she made it up all on her own. It's generally said in 3's while jumping up and down. If that doesn't work, she'll throw a please on the end. "Piecake, piecake, piecake? Piecake PEAS!" It's a little dramatic but very cute.

As you may have noticed, I'm trying to be vague about our names and exact locations. This is a public space and not everyone is nice, etc, etc. So, if you are friend or family, please try not to leave comments with our names or any specifics; but, please do leave comments so we know you stopped by!

In the very near future, I'm hoping to figure out how to do this blog thing and start regularly posting about our excursions. I've received a few emails with generic questions about Australia and Sydney, so I'll try to post some of that information too and we'll add whatever else we think of.

Please stay tuned and enjoy!