Newlyweds.
Jay and I have been married for 7 years, and they have been a great 7 years. This week, however, I pointed out to him that he has been laughing at my jokes quite a bit more recently. I am sure I have not miraculously become more hilarious since moving down under. I think that it is due to the fact that we are experiencing so many new and different and exciting things together, just like when we first met. We have many observations to point out and chat about. Our half hour commute to and from work without the kids to interrupt had been really enjoyable. Given the situation, there are lots of things that could be pushing us apart, but we seem to be getting closer. I love our car rides, conversations, and laughter. And I love that he has once again realized that he married a funny chic.

Mr. Australia.
So now that I have made it clear that Jay and I are very happily married, I have to share a funny story. This week a guy from the branch stopped by my desk. Apparently he knows some things that I need to be aware of, but to be honest I don’t know what the heck he was talking about. I have been trying to figure out if I don’t know what he was saying because I am new to the job, or if I was just distracted by his remarkably good looks. Fast forward to the car ride home today. Jay says, “So Mr. Australia stopped by my office today.” I asked him who he refers to as Mr. Australia. (He also has talked about a librarian that I have yet to identify.) He told me his name and I said “Oh my gosh, that’s the guy that I told you about yesterday that said I needed to set up a meeting with but had no idea what about!” He said, “You left out the part that he is every woman’s image of a dreamy Australian dude.” Glad we got that out in the open. And now this gentleman will forever be referred to as Mr. Australia. In reality, most Australians that I have come across sound great, but are just normal looking blokes. I have chuckled to myself thinking back to all of the times we have sat in Moline and fought over who got to call Westpac to hear our favorite Aussie accents, realizing now that they probably were not worth fighting over. :). Oh silly ladies…(and as a reminder, I madly love my husband, so no worries!). This is who we imagined we were calling:

This is who we actually talked to:

Weekend plans.
This weekend shouldn’t be too exciting, so don’t sit around and stare at your computer waiting for me to post a blog update. Ty has a swim lesson and I have a hair appointment Saturday morning, then we have to wait around for the maintenance guy to show up (who knows when that will be), so I am assuming Saturday will be boring. Sunday I have a massage appointment (might be interesting…likely won’t hold a candle to Janey’s skills), then a FaceTime date with Ash and Brooks, and then some free time. Might go to the beach, might go for a drive up the mountain, not entirely sure yet. We’ll just play it by ear!

Opportunity.
There have been a number of little things that I have noticed about Australia that could make so many Australians lives so much happier if they adopted a new way of doing things. And someone with the energy and capital to bring these things to Australia could become really rich.
For example, the vending machine at the office literally drops the cans of pop. What happens when you drop a can of pop (or soft drink as they say) and then try to open it? It explodes. Am I the only person who ends up having their pop explode? Quite possibly yes because the locals probably let it sit on their desk and get lukewarm before opening it. The robot grabber arm technology in the US is quite simple and quite amazing.

The pumps at the gas stations…you have to push the “fill” button, and then hold the pump handle until the car is full, and then you have to go inside to pay. The little clasp deal on the gas pumps back home that allow you to walk away from the car while it is filling are GENIUS and something I have always taken for granted. We haven’t come across a pay at the pump gas station yet…so convenient, especially with kids in the car.

I think I have mentioned the shopping carts. Will somebody PLEASE tell the Australian cart manufacturers about locking the rear wheels? There is no need for all 4 to swivel. Here is a pic I snapped at the mall of a grandma pushing a cart sort of sideways. Makes no sense… And yes, I did say that she was pushing the cart through the mall – because there is a grocery store in the mall.

And I know I cannot change this, but the time zone difference is killer. I ask for something from the US one day, maybe hear a response the next day, and if I run into problems there goes another couple of days. It is amazing that we can get anything done here. A package takes a month to get mailed, a tractor several months. We are not in Kansas anymore, Toto. It’s like we should be ahead, if the early bird gets the worm, but we are only as strong as our latest time zone.

But, we do live by the beach. And it isn’t snowing. And I can wear shorts year round. So no worries mate.

Cars.
On Sunday we went to the Gold Coast Car Show, and YAY it was actually on Sunday and we went straight to the right place! I normally don’t get excited about going to car shows but since Jay loves them, and Ty seemed to genuinely excited about going to the car show, I went. I have to admit I am kind of glad I did go. Most shows I have been to are boring to me because they are full of Chevy, Fords, etc. and I don’t really care about the engines or new technology that my untrained eye cannot see. But the Gold Coast Car Show was full of strange looking cars I have never seen. I couldn’t tell if they were super valuable, or rare, or very common. I did get excited at the handful of left hand drive vehicles (and so did everyone else). And it was nice to see a couple Corvettes. Jay has done some research and has learned that newer vehicles are almost impossible to ship to the US (crash testing, emissions, etc), but you can ship over some older classic cars. I am open to the idea of hauling an old Yute home, pending shipping charge investigation. Would be a fun keepsake that might earn me Wife of the Decade. Jay took a billion pictures – check out his Facebook album.

My favorite part was hands down the Baked Potato trailer. It was shaped like a baked potato – fabulous. I had the Mushy Special, which was topped with sour cream, cheese, and a delicious mushroom sauce. I cannot believe we left there without getting a picture of the trailer.

Ty’s favorite part was the “carnival”. $5 per “ride” bought him a 5 minute jump on the bouncy house. They did have a sweet rock climbing wall, and mini jeeps that you could drive (line was too long), and a pathetic attempt at a big yellow slide.

I guess Ty also liked the big Jeep that crawled over logs and cars, and all 4 wheels turned. Yeah, it was kind of neat.

Paradise Point.
We stopped by Paradise Point on our way home. It is a fun park area that has a lagoon swimming area. The lagoon was pretty disgusting, though. Full of giant storks and gulls, all most certainly popping in the lagoon. Ewww!

Queenslander.
Monday afternoon we rushed out of work a bit early to try to beat the nasty storm that was headed our way. We drove through some hail, but was really surprised when we got home to a giant mess. I slipped and fell in the kitchen (thank goodness I wasn’t holding Lily). Apparently there was 130+ km/hr winds, which blew water in through the windows and doors. The patio furniture had been blown into the back corner, grill was in the garden, pool was nearly overflowing and disgusting. Thankfully no major damage. My knee cap doesn’t appear to be broken and Ty’s half dozen slips didn’t send him to the emergency room. I have to admit it was kind of nice to see cold white stuff piled on the ground, and even nicer when it all melted away an hour later. If only Iowa winters were like that.

Bunnings.
The local version of Home Depot is called Bunnings, and we drive by one on the way to school. This morning Ty said, “that is where you buy hammers, and spotting scopes…but not the kind that use toilet paper things.” What the heck?!?!

Work.
Jay and I are both really busy at work, getting into the swing of things, slowly figuring things out. Still have lots to learn, but we can manage.

Rolling.
Lily has officially and multiple times rolled from her back to her front. Time to isn’t the baby gates, as it won’t be long before she rolls from one side of the room to the other. Nice job Lils!!

Vacation.
We booked our Christmas get away today, to the South Island of New Zealand. Fly into Christchurch and then will explore. Haven’t made many plans yet, and are open to suggestions from anyone who has been there. Looking forward to it!

Coffee.
Saturday morning we got up and rode Tiger to the marina to a little cafe for brekky. I had another fun coffee moment. I ordered a short black coffee with 3 sugars and cream. I was picturing a small coffee in the USA. You would think I would know by now that this is not how things work here. I was in the Chemist (pharmacy) buying a “heating pad” when my coffee arrived.
Side note…I need a heating pad because I haven’t seen my favorite masseuse Janey in months and I don’t know if you have noticed but have had a little bit of stress in my life, so my muscles are a hot mess. Another side note…heating pads are apparently not the kind you plug in to an outlet, but the kind filled with Australian wheat that you put in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
Imagine Jay sitting at the sidewalk table giggling by himself as he awaits my return to the table when this appears. How did they put 3 sugars in this cup?!?!

I believe my response was “what the hell is that?” And then was even further disappointed to try a sip. Cold, disgusting coffee.

So I took my midget-sized coffee inside and asked for some education. The sweet lady laughed and said, “you want an American coffee. I will fix this right up. And you need to order a long black with cream on the side.” Well, round two was about 50% bigger, still tasted like crap, but was at least hot. Maybe my taste buds just need to adapt.

Garage sale.
One of the houses in the neighborhood had a garage sale, so we stopped by on our way home from the marina. What we really need is storage furniture for the kids’ toys, but of course that had already been sold. So instead we just picked up more toys – a decent amount of army toys. We did get a couple baskets that are in rough shape but will at least attempt to hide some toys. Ty is happy. 🙂

Car show…sort of.
The plan was then to go to the Gold Coast Car Show because Jay had been seeing signs since we got here and of course wanted to go. We hopped in the car and after struggling to find the directions thought we were finally heading in the right direction. Until we ended up doing a complete circle on Old Coach Road… A few more attempts at finding the place and we ended up at a big empty grass lot. There were a couple guys standing by the car show sign. They said, “tomorrow mate, the 17th”. Jay has looked at signs and the website a bunch of times, and knew that it was this weekend, but failed to notice one key detail. So…no worries…plan B!

Currumbin.
Finally!! After being in Australia for almost a month, we saw kangaroos and koalas! We had heard that Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary was a great place to go, and since it wasn’t far from the “car show” we decided to go check it out. Knowing that anyone who comes to visit will want to see the critters, we bought an annual pass (hint hint – come visit!!)
We didn’t get far into the park. We saw the koalas and got a $20 picture (really wish I would have put on makeup and done my hair).

Then Lily was hungry so I fed her while the boys started eating lunch. When I got back to the table, Ty was hot so he took off his shirt. And then about 50 Asians walked by and thought he and Lily were the cutest kids ever. Ty must have felt like a celebrity because he got his picture taken with every single lady…and there were tons. Lily got oohed and ahhhed at, the occasional hand and cheek rub, and even one lady asked to hold her (I politely declined). It was awesome. Jay and I were just like, “what the heck is happening” and cracking up. Ty egged them on when he said, “ni hao.”
After the autographs were all signed and the crowd moved on, we started to go back into the park, but were told that a nasty storm was on its way. So, we quickly ran through the snake area (ewwww!) and went back to the car. Turns out we only saw a teensy tiny portion of the park, but since we have a pass we can go back whenever we want.

Schoolies.
We thought it would be fun to drive up the coast to get home. It was fun (found some cool beaches we will check out later) until we hit the schoolie traffic heading into Surfers Paradise. This is the equivalent to Spring Break in the US, but worse because it is a bunch of high schoolers. Since they are going into summer, seniors just graduated. Apparently they ALL go to Surfers. And we were stuck in traffic with all of them. If we didn’t have the kids with us, we might have kept on and partied with them (and been known as the “toolies”), but I couldn’t stand sitting still, so we turned around and went several kilometers out of the way, but at least we were moving.

Lily’s Room.
I finally got the decorations put up in Lily’s room! I brought her things from Iowa, helps brighten up the boring white walls. Love it!

Butcher.
We hopped back in the buggy and went to the marina to get some fresh meat to cook for dinner. Jay and I got ribs, Ty got honey soy chicken skewers. The butcher and his wife were super nice. Will definitely go back. We haven’t been impressed by the meat from the grocery store.
Jay and Lily went to the grocery store for dessert while Ty and I checked out the clothes in the Marina V Boutique. Cute stuff! One Mudcake and a container of ice cream later, and it was back home for a relaxing, yummy night in at Roo’s Barefoot Cantina. Yes, you can check in at our house on Facebook and Four Square. 🙂

Clark.
Jay’s station wagon arrived this week. He calls it a sport wagon, I think it is only missing wood grain paneling and a rear facing back seat… He has chosen to name it Clark. I preferred Shaggy, but got overruled. You may notice the giant tow hitch on the back end. I think Jay has big plans for that. We will see if it ever gets used. Here’s a picture of the wagon…beautiful Clark…

License.
Jay and I are both officially licensed drivers in Australia! The DMV is surprisingly similar to the US. Grab a ticket with a number (from the 65 year old lady with pink hair), sit in the chair in the middle of the room with dozens of dirties, wait for your number to appear on the screen, go to the appropriate window. That is about where the similarities end. In the US, the government employee is an underpaid, crabby, life hating person. Not the Aussie version. Had a wonderful little chat with the guy that helped me. After reasonably quickly checking about a dozen forms of identification, my new Aussie drivers license will arrive in the mail in about 10 days. Woohoo!

Tea Party.
I have mentioned previously that the Aussies love their tea. Not the beverage itself, but the time. What I have come to realize is that if you have a special occasion (birthday, baby announcement, etc), you are unofficially expected to bring in morning tea. Ok, this is not just the typical bagels or cookies. This is an entire smorgasbord of yummy treats. Cookies, cakes, chips, fruits, bread bowl dips. Enough to feed the entire office… Given the fact that food is at least double the cost, these people are spending a fortune to throw a tea party at work. I think that we will not let anyone know when our birthdays are…

Year End Party.
Any excuse to party is a good one. There is an office fiscal year end party this weekend. Jay and I aren’t going because we didn’t think we would have had time to find a babysitter this quick. The party is down on the Gold Coast near Surfers Paradise. We have heard rumblings of complaints from people around the office because they don’t want to have to go all the way to Surfers (probably 30-45 minute drive). Ok, I get that they may not want to drive. But seriously? This afternoon after hearing someone say they were boycotting the party because it is on the Gold Coast, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. To summarize: Seriously? Listen to yourself. You are UPSET that you HAVE to go to the Gold Coast for a party? Um, most Deere employees would LOVE to drive an hour to paradise, but most of us live in Moline, Illinois. So let’s not take this for granted.

If I ever complain about how long it takes us to drive to the beach during the next two years, please remind me of this post… In case you think my reaction was unwarranted, let me remind you about what this area looks like.

Pizza Party.
We thought that since it was the end of the week, we would celebrate with a little pizza party at home. We made pizzas from “scratch”, which means we bought crusts at the store and put toppings on them. Since they don’t sell packages of ground sausage, I had to squeeze the sausage out of the casing (enter gagging noises) and cook it using my Pampered Chef hamburger masher (thank god for this invention). Jay and Lily supervised. Ty spread the sauce, put the mushrooms and onions on mine, and put the sausage on the boys’ pizza, then topped them both with cheese. They were quite delicious!

Scarlet Letter.
We have noticed square stickers on cars with either a green or red “P” on them. Jay finally remembered to ask what they mean. I red P identifies someone who is just learning to drive. I equate this to having a learner’s permit in the US, only it is visible for all to see. You graduate up to having a green permit, and eventually you are allowed to drive without the “scarlet letter”. Driving record and age are taken into consideration, maybe other things as well, not an expert on this. One interesting point is if you get an OWI here, you are never allowed to drive without the letter.
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Doctor.
Lily turned 4 months old on the “11th of the 11th” as they say here. Dates are written as DD/MM/YY instead of the MM/DD/YY that I am used to so I constantly have to think about what day and month it is. I digress…. With Lily’s 4 month birthday comes the dreaded vaccinations. Thankfully before we left the US we had Lily’s pediatrician give me a printout of the vaccination schedule, and it is basically the same here in Australia. Let me try to describe the doctor experience for you.

The clinic has a decent reception area, pretty clean, uncomfortable chairs, lots of paperwork, and very friendly receptionists, similar to the US. I am not normally a germophobe, but I despise the kids’ toy box in a doctors’ office, and this one did not disappoint. Disgusting as it was, it kept Ty occupied while we waited for the General Practitioner to arrive. If you recall from an earlier blog, pediatricians are only seen in extreme cases. Routine work is done by a GP.

We get called in to see the doctor by the doctor himself, no nurse. Benefit of this is that the wait time is less than the US and we only had to talk to one person. The strange part is that we went into his office. It had a cot, not the tall exam tables that I am used to, covered in a brown sheet that was too big for the cot, and no disposable paper on top. We answered a few general questions about the kids, discussed the vaccine schedule, and then were taken to another room called the Examination Room.

This room had a nurse, 2 cots in a skinny L-shaped room and curtains on rollers, if privacy was needed. The layout was not ideal for mom, dad, dr, nurse, Ty, Lily, and the occasional receptionist who had to get to the storage area in the back of the L-shaped exam room. Doc took Lily’s height on a roll-up measuring chart that he laid on the bed. He put the scale on the bed to weigh her and just rounded a bit down to adjust for her nappy and shirt. Then as an after thought he had me set her on the other bed to check her joints and her head. The nurse had me hold Lily for the shots. Lily did great for the first one, but cried for the 2nd. Ty just got weight and height measurements and is in the system for future visits. We don’t book her 6 month appointment until they send a letter because it is “way too early” (no worries mate). Each child was $65, so unless we are in an extreme situation we will be doing that when the kids are sick instead of the $150 Medcall.

All in all, it was a different experience, things are as expected…much more relaxed. Not terrible, just different. Let’s just all pray for healthy kiddos so we don’t have to go back too often.

T

CBD
Jay and I had to go meet with our Australian tax preparer, so we went into Brisbane CBD (Central Business District). We had a quick lunch at a random English restaurant next to the building we were going to. After the meeting we went for a quick walk around the area. I should look at map to confirm, but it seemed like we were in the financial district. For a minute I felt like I was back on a Treasury debt marketing trip…in and out of skyscrapers, walking through downtown. Good memories… Here are some pictures of the CBD area.

Lukewarm.
I have not had a proper cup of coffee since I have been here. I don’t know how or why, but the coffee here is TERRIBLE. I was super excited to see a Starbucks, so I pretty much ran inside and said, “thank God for Starbucks. Does it taste like the US?” Without hesitation the barista said, “Nope.” He was right. It was lukewarm, at best, and tasted like a combo of dirty shoe leather and tar. I found it quite ironic that the Aussies seem to like their coffee cold and their water hot. I have resolved my ice water issues at home, at least, but there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about the coffee. The funny thing is that they KNOW their coffee sucks but, no worries mate. Australian Starbucks = fail.

Kids.
Ty and Lily have both had some really good days at school. The past 2 drop offs have been tear free for Ty (Lily is an oblivious little “chicken”, as they call her). Hopefully we are over the worst of things.

Swim.
I finally went for a swim on Sunday morning. The water was still a little cold, but the sun was warm and shining directly on the pool. Ty had fun squirting me with the water shooter, Jay hosed off the patio, and Lily watched from her swing in the living room. I bet in a few more weeks the water will be perfect.

For those of you who think that I need more sun to soften up my pasty white complexion, you would be happy to know that I have a tan line where my watch goes (not much, but something!), and freckles are appearing on my legs. And, we have all avoided getting fried – we don’t go outside for more than 5 minutes without loading up the sunscreen and putting on a hat.

Food.
Sunday night we drove Tiger (the buggy) to the grocery store, fulfilling Ty’s lifelong dream. It is quicker to drive the buggy than to drive a car, more of a direct route, less traffic, and easier parking.
We are getting smarter about our grocery shopping. Food spoils faster here, must be less preservatives, so we have made a weekly menu of sorts. Pasta Monday, Taco Tuesday, Asian Wednesday, BBQ Thursday, and Pizza Friday. Weekends are TBD. Hopefully this schedule will make the weekday evenings run a little smoother. We also created a list of food that we need for lunches. On Sunday nights, we just check the menu to find out what food we need to buy for the week and pull out meat from the freezer to thaw. I am pretty sure this is what most people do, but we got used to take-out back home. We could do the same here, but then we would be broke… When we checked out at the store tonight, we had our cheapest bill yet. And we should have less wasted food. Elementary, I know, but we are being “forced/encouraged” to adjust our lifestyle. This change is for the better, and is one that I can see us continuing when we get back to the US.
One random observation. Since 90% of the packaged food in Australia is a non-recognizable brand, we have gravitated to what is familiar – more fruits and veggies. The freezer aisle at the store is very small – definitely not an entire aisle full of frozen pizzas. Fresh is best here. Back home we made a lot of frozen breakfast foods (cinnamon rolls, etc). Now we will drive the buggy to the bakery at the marina on the weekends for fresh cinnamon rolls. This should be an interesting marketing experiment to see what brands we end up buying. So far I know I like Cadbury. :).

Critters.
Every night a couple lizards hang out on the ceiling of our patio. Ty gets a kick out of them. It is fun to watch them. They are very light colored, very different looking.

Words.
Maccers (McDonalds)

The car with no name.
My car arrived on Friday!! I get to drive a sassy red Holden Commodore SV6 while we are here. It is pretty and just sporty enough for my taste. Beats the Hyundai rental I have been driving. Jay and I have always named our vehicles – they are part of the family, you know. I haven’t come up with any good ones and am taking suggestions. See Facebook for a post to take your entries. 🙂

Tiger.
We knew we wanted to get a buggy (golf cart) because everyone cruises around the neighborhood in their buggies here. There are lots of buggy paths that take you to the golf course, the marina shops & restaurants & grocery store, and Hope Island shops & restaurants. When Jay caught wind of an orange super sport buggy with fancy wheels, he knew he would wait for it to arrive at Carts ‘N Parts. When he took it for a test drive, he was sold.
A year or so ago, when one of Ty’s teachers asked him what he wants to do when he grew up, his response, without hesitation, was “I want to ride a tiger to the grocery store.” So naming the orange buggy that can be driven to the grocery store was easy. Meet Tiger.

VIP Pass.
The office family Christmas party is at a huge water park the next exit up the interstate from our house. It is called Wet & Wild. We decided to buy season passes that get us into Wet & Wild, Movie World (like Disney World and also just an exit away), and Sea World (about 25 minutes away). Awesome. :).

On Saturday we put the VIP pass to good use and went to Sea World. It was so nice to not have to rush through the park to cram in everything, because we can go back anytime we want. We saw penguins that just had babies, dolphins, sharks, sting rays (Ty’s favorite), rode on rides, watched a jet ski show, and watched Dora! Both kids were great all day. So fun!

After Sea World, jay and I took the scenic route along the coast back home since both kids were sleeping. When we got home, we loaded up the buggy and drove to the marina for dinner. I had crab linguini and Jay had a steak at a place called Red Rock. We had an outdoor table right on the water. Sipped some wine, had a delicious meal, kids behaved. Life is good… Since we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving here, I’d like to do one quick shout out. I am thankful for the opportunity of a lifetime, a husband that was willing to go on thus crazy adventure, and two beautiful children. 🙂

Ozone.
Jay’s random thought of the week… Wonder if the sunburns would be as bad if there were some non-aerosol options for deodorant here…

Words.
Fairy floss (cotton candy); off crook (home sick)

Lunch.
Jay and I had lunch on the patio at work on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day, the patio has a cover on it for protection from the sun. This is the first time we have had a chance to sit together and eat outside. We will make it a point to do that more often.

We have gone out for lunch a couple times. There are some nice shopping/dining areas within about 10 minutes of the office. There is a decent sized mall, complete with a grocery store (this is a common concept – quite strange to see fruits and veggies down the way from clothing stores).

Tea.
I haven’t quite figured this out. People don’t miss “tea”, morning tea and afternoon tea, but as far as I can tell the term can be used for a smoke, a coffee, a tea, or a snack. I think it is really just a “break” but “tea” sounds better.

Mailman.
Yes, our mail is delivered via scooter, by the cutest Aussie I have seen so far. I went running out front with my phone and he said, “you’re not taking a picture of me, love”. Oh yes, yes I am. 🙂

Ice!
We got our fridge with ice and water in the door hooked up!! Praise The Lord! I have ice! Nothing beats an ice water in a magic cup on a hot day. Mom suggested I bring in a cooler full of ice to work every day. Jay thinks that is a bit extreme, but I haven’t ruled it out yet… Happiness is…

Shipment!
Our stuff has finally arrived!! It seems like I started packing things up forever ago, so it is nice to be able to finally unpack things. Ty was so excited to see all of his favorite toys. Wait until he sees his pile of books to choose from tonight at bedtime! These past few weeks have been an interesting experiment to test what we can and “cannot” live without. Jay can’t live without his tools. I need my pampered chef hamburger masher deal, and about a billion other things.

I wonder what age people learn or start to complain. I am certain it is not 3 and a half, because Ty has not uttered a single complaint throughout this whole process. I know how hard it has been on him, but all things considered he has handled it really well.

Pork.
The Aussies love their pork. I mean really love it. The Iowa Pork Producers would love these people. The sausage section is the largest in the meat aisle. Tonight we were excited to try some chicken cordon bleu that we got at the butcher. Jay grilled it to perfection, we cut into it, and I swear there was not any chicken. Jay thinks there was a little, but if there was it was a minuscule amount. Ham and cheese, rolled up. Not terrible, but not great….