Elsja Down Under

A Cross-Country Christmas December 28, 2009

I think 2009 was a really tough year for so many people. Between the economy, illnesses and injuries, relationship challenges, lost jobs and all the other unfortunate things that happened to family and friends, it feels like it will be good to have 2009 over and done with. So it seems only fitting that we should all end the year on a good note with my favorite holiday, Christmas. I think Christmas should make us all happy and put us in the right mood to start the new year off fresh and positive. Maybe we spent a little too much or ate a little too much, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without a few less pennies and a few more pounds, right?

Our Christmas was spent on two sides of a continent, literally. First we started off with a really nice Christmas Eve at Andrew’s cousin’s house. We had a wonderful BBQ and then enjoyed a fun Secret Santa/Kris Kringle gift exchange. We played the version where you can steal other people’s presents and so it made the game super exciting even though we had a $10 limit (it’s pretty hard to find decent gifts for $10). We headed home that night and Andrew and I had our own little Christmas together. We sat in front of our glittering tree and opened all of our presents for each other and also the ones that my parents gave us. It was a bit sad because it’s the first time in my life that I’ve had to open family presents without my family actually watching.  It’s something I’ll get used to eventually but I’m sure it will take some time.

On Christmas morning we woke up bright and early and headed to Andrew’s dad’s house. Each year everyone gets together for a breakfast BBQ to chow down on bacon and tomato rolls. I’m lucky and I got a very special (and delicious) omelette since I don’t eat bacon. After we all cleaned up we sat down to have our annual Christmas Kris Kringle gift exchange. Veronica was my secret Santa and she got me a set of appetizer plates which I had asked for. Yay, thanks VK! 

After a busy morning, Christmas was still just getting started.  Once Kris Kringle was finished Andrew, his mum and I headed toward the airport and jumped on a flight across the country to Perth. We arrived just in time to enjoy a delicious traditional Christmas dinner at Andrew’s aunt and uncle’s house. Dinner was followed by a family game of trivial pursuit and then we made our way to Andrew’s Nana’s house where we all spent the night. The rest of the quick weekend getaway included Andrew waking up at 4:50am to go for a run (even with the time difference he’s still nuts), lunch in Fremantle, a warm evening BBQ, a morning at the beach and finally a flight back to Sydney. The trip was short but sweet.

Being away from  my family and friends on Christmas is never easy, but having so much to do this year and spending it with ALL of Andrew’s family made it much more special. If you’re interested in seeing photos from this year’s Christmas festivities… click here. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Best wishes for a fabulous 2010.

Fat Monk December 23, 2009

We tried a new restaurant this week. It was so good that we had it again, 2 days later.

Fat Monk is a Thai/Asian restaurant in Cremorne. We decided to try it out on Monday with our friends Mike and Hayley and tonight when our other friends felt like Asian food, we suggested that we go back there.

I’ll get straight to the point:

Decor: 10 – Super cool decor. A combination of cow hide ottoman cushions, raw wood walls, funky paintings of Buddha and an awesome wrought iron chandelier with red shades somehowall really goes together. It’s super funky and it has total character. You would think a place like this would be totally overpriced and trendy- but that’s not the case at all! Even the servers wear cute little Asian outfits. Super cool!

Value:  7-8-  It’s not the cheapest Thai we’ve had but it’s not the most expensive either. I’d say the rice is a little overpriced at $3 for a little bowl, but other than that, everything is pretty comparable to other Thai in the area.

Service: 10- I’m going to make a bold statement and say it’s the best service I’ve had in Australia. They don’t put jugs of water on the table, they actually come around and refill your glasses. You never have to ask for more water either! When the glass is getting empty, they magically appear to fill it for you. They even came around to refill our wine glasses and  the food comes out really quickly too.

Taste: 9- While I still think Thai Intra might be my all time favorite Thai food, I would go as far as saying that this is probably my second favorite so far. It’s not oily like some other places we’ve had. The dishes had tons of fresh veggies and the chicken is super delish. It’s great!! We’ve been twice now in one week, I think that says a lot right there.

As an added bonus, we can walk there from our house. It’s a bit of an uphill trek, but it’s close enough to walk so we can at least burn off 1/18th of what we are eating.

I definitely recommend giving it a try if you haven’t already.

A Few of My Favorite Things December 20, 2009

My best friends and I have a series of emails that we like to send around from time to time called “Things I Can’t Live Without.” When one of us finds something really awesome, we send around emails detailing our fabulous finds. Sometimes they include make-up products, sometimes we send our favorite food items, etc. In the spirit of Christmas, I figured I could share a few of my latest favorite things with the whole world.

1. Benefit Pocket Pal – Awhile back I was looking for a reddish lipstick that would just sort of tint my lips red without looking like a $2 hooker. I really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for. I knew I basically just wanted a rosy, natural tint. I even mentioned to the girl that I could use something like Benetint but I didn’t want to carry around that little jar in my purse all the time. So I was super stoked to discover this awesome tint/gloss combo the last time I was in the US. I also just found that there is a Benetint mini as well! Who knew? I think I’ll buy the mini next time because the I don’t really use the gloss part of the pocket pal.

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2. Swiffer Dusters – If you read this blog you will have caught a little glimpse of my hatred for dust. I hate that I have to dust every few days to keep the house looking clean. I hate the fact that when I dust with washcloths, I can actually see little fibers flying around in the air and then settling back onto the surface I just wiped down. When I was in California, my mom gave me one of these little wonders to bring back with me. I love them! They do a really good job of picking up the dust and lint and I love that I can just run around and do a quick touch up job in between my full dusting jobs. I’ve now added a new item to my “stock up while in California” list… Swiffer duster refills. Good thing they can squish easily into my bag.

3. Ferrero Raffaello – I think these are known as Ferrero Garden in the US. These things are seriously little bites of heaven. I could easily become super tubbo if too many of these things are sitting around the house. I’m not one of those girls that likes to receive chocolates as valentines or anniversary gifts, but I don’t think I’d mind getting a few of these delightful morsels from time to time.

Ok so it’s just a few things… but they are all great and worth sharing with the world. If you have any items you can’t live without, please share! I’m still looking for Christmas tradition ideas from my last post as well!

I’m Dreaming of a Humid Christmas December 16, 2009

It may take me some time to get used to combining Christmas with Summer. I’m trying to listen to Christmas music every chance I get since I only have a few more weeks before the holidays are over. So yesterday when work was finished I plugged in my ipod and headed up the hill on my way to the beach. I huffed, I puffed and I sweat in the sun as I listened to “White Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride.” I don’t know about you, but I feel like there’s something really wrong about listening to “Baby it’s Cold Outside” when in fact baby it’s quite hot and humid outside.

I should be drinking pumpkin spice lattes and egg nog. Instead I’m eating watermelon and drinking iced tea.I should be wearing scarves and hoodies and enjoying the scent of burning fireplaces in the cool, crisp winter air.  Instead, I’m putting on my bathing suit and summer dresses and enjoying the scent of the sea salt on muggy summer afternoons.

The only thing that reminds me that Christmas is next week is the colorful Christmas tree standing in our living room. Even that seems out of place when I’m sweating here on my couch in shorts and a t-shirt. I just don’t know if I’ll ever get used to a summer Christmas. In fact you’ll probably see a blog just like this one next year… and the year after.

Since the days of roast turkey dinners and warm spiced cider are pretty much over for me I’ve decided we’ll just have to start some new festive Christmas traditions of our own. I feel like getting married will be a good starting point for us to begin creating these new traditions. I’ve already decided I want to have a Christmas party every year. My parents always had a party every year as far back as I can remember. It is one of my fondest memories from Christmas as a kid. Many times our parties would fall on Christmas Eve and the adults would let us stay up until midnight to see if we could hear the bells of Santa’s sleigh. I figure we can start of with small get togethers and work our way up to larger, more lavish parties once we actually have a decent house and higher incomes. Maybe we can also create some yummy, summery Christmas recipes to enjoy every year. I don’t know what all we will end up doing, but do I know that I need some ideas to help me adapt to this new version of the holiday season.

Any festive Christmas traditions for soon-to-be newlyweds would be greatly appreciated!

Dear Neighbors, Part 3 December 12, 2009

Dear new neighbors,

Andrew told me about you two while I was away. First to you Mr. Man neighbor- Andrew mentioned that everyone in the apartment could hear you beating your girlfriend. Evidently people heard the thuds and your poor girl was screaming and crying. Neighbors were yelling at you through the windows telling you they could hear you beating her and you still didn’t stop. Luckily some people had enough sense to call the cops. Clearly you are a douchebag.

When I returned last Saturday and heard what sounded like some serious sex occuring in the late afternoon, I actually thought I was hearing our other neighbors. But this sex did not sound like the sex that we usually can hear. You guys sounded REALLY into it. At least you did Ms. Lady neighbor. Yes, it partially did sound like you were being beat up- but when I heard “YEAH, YEAH” I figured you just like it rough. When I went into the bathroom again, I could hear you crying. Why oh why were you crying? Maybe you were just playing along out of fear because your creep boyfriend would beat you up again if you don’t fulfil his sleazy desires. I have never even met you but already I can see that you two have some SERIOUS issues.

I’m not sure what went on in the following 40 minutes but when Andrew and I returned from picking up dinner and a movie, your drunk trash boyfriend was on the ground being handcuffed by 5 cops.

While I do enjoy interesting neighbors, I don’t enjoy guys who beat up and possibly rape their girlfriends and wives. No one in the building wants to hear that. Someone needs to head to rehab and/or jail and someone else needs some major counseling. Good luck to you both.

P.S. I do like your Christmas stockings that you’ve hung in the window.

Wedding Nightmares December 8, 2009

Am I the only bride-to-be that has recurring nightmares about our wedding? If there is anything that could ever go wrong with a wedding, I’ve dreamt about it. Here is a list of just some of the nightmares I’ve had (at least all the ones I can remember).

• My hair and makeup is not done when it’s time to walk down the aisle
• Being totally late because I run out of time getting ready
• My dad not showing up to walk me down (I’ve had that one twice, in the most recent one my sister walked me instead)
• Getting to the altar and not knowing who I am marrying. Then when I see the guy he is some unknown nasty man and I get really sad and don’t want to marry him
• Instead of flowers, the florist puts up giant crepe paper daisies… hideous
• My bouquet flowers are the wrong color
• Forgetting to give a schedule to the DJ and caterers so no one knows what is going on
• Forgetting to sort out who will actually be marrying us (luckily someone at the wedding just happens to be authorized to do so)
• Turning into a total bridezilla and actually yelling at people because NO ONE is doing anything
• Having to tell my mom to go sit down because she wants to walk down the aisle after me
• Waking up the day after the wedding and realizing I remember NONE of it and being SO sad that I will never remember our wedding

Andrew thinks I’m crazy- but he also thinks it probably happens to all brides. Maybe I am crazy. If we’ve got 9 months until the wedding and I’m already having these issues, how much worse will it get when I only have 1 month left to plan?

Airport Adventures December 6, 2009

I’m back! I know I seriously suck at blogging when I go home to CA to visit. Now that I’m back in Sydney, I should be posting more. Although don’t expect any photos- wordpress decided to just take a dump and stop letting me upload anything. I hope to have that fixed eventually.

ANNNNYWAYS…

I made it home on Saturday morning after an uneventful trip across the pacific. While I was in the airport waiting to board, I did have a few thoughts and I’m sort of wondering if I am the only weird person that thinks of this stuff or if there are others out there just as paranoid, nosy and anal as me.

Am I the only one that gets a teeny bit nervous when they test my bag for bomb/drug particles? Ok so it makes no sense because I obviously am never carrying bombs or drugs, but whenever I get the extra screening through security I’m always a little concerned that the alarm on the machine is going to go off. Maybe I’ve watched too much Boarder Patrol or Banged up Abroad, but I always think to myself “what if I touched a dollar bill that had some bomb material on it and then I touched my bag, blah blah blah.” I’m a freak, I know, I know- but it’s always a big relief when the little “passed” sign comes up on the screen.

Does anyone stare at people at the gate and wonder who they are and why they are getting on that plane? I saw this group of maybe 12 African American guys at the gate when I was getting ready to board. Anyone who has been to Australia knows that it is pretty strange to see any groups of black people at all in this country. Don’t believe me? Read this blog.  One looked sort of like Don Cheadle, all cool with his gold jewelry and glasses on his head (indoors at 10:00pm) but the rest looked like big nerds. Obviously they were traveling as a group but what kind of group? They were too poorly dressed to be a sports team or music group. Church group maybe? I sat and wondered and I still wonder. Am I the only one who wonders?

Does anyone else have a detailed plan and schedule of events every time they get on the plane? I always have my big backpack that is too big to go under a seat so I bring a smaller cloth bag inside the backpack. The first thing I do when I get to my seat is take out all the things I might need on my flight (or things I don’t want to get stolen)- my ipod, a pen, sleeping pills, my wallet and passport, chapstick, water, socks, an eye mask, etc. I add these items to the cloth bag and put it under the seat. Next I take out my travel blanket…yes, I carry a travel blanket. Finally I put my big bag in the overhead, sit down, buckle up and check out the entertainment guide. That is how it goes on EVERY flight. Does that make me anal? Perhaps, but maybe I’m  just an expert traveler?

So who else is with me? Who else is as anal, nosy and paranoid as I am??