Au revoir Brianna!

Friday night we all got together to celabrate/mourn Brianna's approaching departure. At the end of the month Brianna will be moving to Montreal. She held a party at her and Adam's loft with a shivery theme.


Me getting warmed up with a glass of wine.

Some of the "ladies"

You can take the girl out of Bridgewater, but you can't take the Bridgwater out of the girl.

Pure Evil

Mr. Jeff (I'm single) Goslan

Another glass of wine for me.

Flirt

I'm trying my best to play a didgeridoo, all that came out was a cross between a fog horn and a whale fart.

Smile

The pics below were stolen off Brianna's facebook.

Sugar bugs

Yesterday was by far the sweetest Valentine's Day EVER! Sweet in that Steve gave me an adorable card and a facial and we went out for a yummy V'Day brekky, but mostly sweet in that I have never eaten that much sugar in one day ever. I actually had cookies and cupcakes for lunch. I have NEVER done that EVER. I felt disgusting! Especially since I usually don't eat a whole lot of sugar...I really felt it. I can't imagine what it must be like for people who eat junk and drink things like pop everyday and feel like that all the time. Ick. I had a monster salad for dinner, I've been drinking dandelion tea to detox and Steve and I took Jesse on a 45 minute super walk this morning to work off the junk. I'm just finally getting rid of my sugar headache and icky tummy. I seriously can't believe how badly sugar overload can make you feel when you're not used to having it! I can see why people have sugar withdrawl when they first start low GI diets. You're body really reacts to that crap!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,

Cari, Steve and Jesse

xoxo

Congratulations...

...to Steve's brother, John and his "fiance", Skye on their engagement! We're very excited for you both! There's just so much to look forward to!

They are getting married in November, which means, Steve and I are going to do our best to make it home for the wedding. Which means, if all goes well, our 2009 trip will become a 2008 trip instead. No promises, but here's hoping!!! We would both really like to see them get married and we would both really like to see our families! We'll keep you posted!

Last weekend in review...

It's almost another weekend, we're over hump day and here I am just posting last weekend's events. The sun came out for both Saturday and Sunday (yeah!) and so, we headed off to the beach. The above pic is Jes waiting to leave for the beach. He actually hates going in the hatch of the car. I think we may have traumatized him by taking him with us when Steve was learning to drive a standard. He bumped his head a lot. Poor Jeddy.
We packed our usual picnic. Lots of food.
Jesse tied to a surfboard, while we ate lunch. He's just staring at the water.

We did lots of body boarding. Fun, fun! Rej and Clo in this pic, waiting to catch a wave.
Ah Jeddy, we love you! He's such a good puppy!
Stacey and Breagha. Breagha loved the water!
Jesse deciding if Steve is worth the hassle of overtaking the waves.
The beach can be so exhausting! Shamus having a snooze...

Action shot.
It took Shamus a little while to brave the ocean waves, but once he got used to it, he seemed to have a great time!

Brrrr.

On Sunday, we went to Southbank lagoon (man-made beach in the city) with the Purdys. This guy was making a chess board.
We also went for lunch and sat outside. They had gluten free pizza! It's been awhile since I've had pizza...what a treat! This guy was hanging out around our table, waiting for some scraps. He's pretty big! There was also this guy...he's smaller and missing part of his tail...I've been in Australia for a year now and seeing creatures like these running around our lunch table just doesn't seem to get old!

It's been raining again this week, but hopefully it'll be another beautiful weekend!

More gecko stuff...

The pic on the left was taken from inside the house, through the window. The gecko is on the glass. Last night I watched a gecko catch a huge moth and eat the whole thing, through our window. It was actually kind of cool to see. May the poor moth rest in peace. The pic below is a gecko hanging out by our backdoor light. They stick close to there and catch the bugs that are attracted to it. For some more interesting gecko behavior, visit Rej's blog at

http://gecko-hunter.blogspot.com/ .

Dog Beach...Woof!

Steve and I found a dog beach where we can take Snugs to swim. It's exactly 19 minutes away (I timed it). Jesse loves it...of course. We try to get him there at least once a week for a good swim. It helps to keep him clean and flea free, which has unfortunately, for the first time ever in his 6 years been a problem. Not a serious one, we've kept a close eye on it, but still we have seen a few, even with his monthly Sentinel. Guess it's to be expected when your dog stays outside all day and most of the evening. Plus, it's been spring and summer here, so it's flea season. I took these pics awhile ago, on one of our trips to the beach. The above pic is of Jesse and his sidekick buddy. Together they fight evil and rescue fallen dog treats. At least that's what Steve thinks...

The park that the beach is on is called "Pelican Park" and so, as the name states, there are Pelicans everywhere. A park person was feeding them on this particular day that we were there. They are such a large bird! I LOVE watching them move and fly!

Is it just me or have been totally slacking off on the whole blogging thing?? I finally took all my pictures off the camera this morning and I have tons to post! So, the plan is today after work, I'll do some serious catch up!

Advice

Do not spend 2 hours making a recipe called "Spicy Vegetarian Chili", with the assumption that it shouldn't be thaaat spicy. Assume that it will be that spicy. That spicy and then some. I think this is the first time ever that I've cooked something that made Steve sweat while he was eating it. I can't hardly believe that I managed to eat it for dinner last night, or that I'm crazy enough to be eating the leftovers for lunch. Whoa. Next time I think I'll half the spice.

Some blogging ideas...

Awhile back, my good friend, Kristi, who's full of creative thoughts and ideas started a recipe blog, where several people can post recipes. I have just finally added the cookie recipe that I posted on here. Check it out at, http://yumfunandthensome.blogspot.com/ . There's also a link to it from this blog (on the side). She also started a blog bookclub, where you post what you're reading and then write a review once you're finished. I haven't done very well at this either, but I think it's a great idea and I'm gonna try to get caught up very soon! I have read a few books lately and have lots to say! Anyway, if you want to join the bookclub, simple post what you're reading for all of us to see and then let us know if it's worth reading later! Easy as. No idea what it's as "easy as" but that's what Australians say..."Easy as" and leave it at that. They're big on keepin' things simple. Maybe we can all take a lesson from them...

Fudgy-wudgy Chocolate Cookies

125 grams butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self-rising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 - 1 cup dark chocolate pieces
3/4 cup macadamia nuts (can use walnuts or pecans, as well)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in combined sifted flour, soda and cocoa powder. Stir in chocolate bits.
Drop rounded tablespoons of mixture into baking sheet. Press each slightly with a fork to flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool.


These cookies are super yummy and so easy to make! I experimented and made them with gluten free flour and dairy free butter and they still turned out great, so I'm thinking they are definitely fool proof! Especially yummy if you're a chocolate fan! And, I read that eating a bit of dark chocolate each day helps to lower blood pressure, so...technically, eating these cookies are actually good for you...right...? You might want to double the batch...as you can see by the picture, Jes thought they looked pretty good...he didn't take his eyes off them!

Hello!

Hello Faithful Readers!

It's been awhile since I've shared an update on our lives. That's mostly been contributed to the fact that we haven't been doing a whole heck of a lot! The rain hasn't stopped in ages and this week has been the craziest rain ever! Brisbane has got 12 month's worth of rain in 2008. So, a year's worth of rain in just over a month. Wow. Yesterday, was the kicker though. I have NEVER seen rain like that before. Rivers were flowing down the sides of the streets. Drains looked like water fountains. The underground parking lot where I was getting groceries became a swimming pool, which involved removing your shoes and wading to your car. Streets flooded so badly in parts of the city near to where we live that cars were in water up to their hoods, or bonnets as they say here. Check out these pics...http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/gallery/0,23816,5029364-17382,00.html. I was SO wishing I had my own camera with me! I personally have loved the rain, after a year of sunshine, but I can see why people are getting tired of it now. The dams that were getting so low have come up 30% though, which is great! That's gotta add at least a minute onto our 4 minute showers, don't you think??

In other news, the Purdys have arrived safe and sound. They stayed with us over the weekend, where we got to do a little exploring around the city and some shopping. They're now in a temporary apartment not far from us. It's nice having them around again! Hopefully Mr. Sun will introduce himself and they'll get a taste of an Australian beach over the weekend!

Other than that, it's been the same ole, same ole. Hope everyone reading this is doing well!