Adventure Complete
We're back. No pictures to show as I've managed to leave my camera in a little German cuckoo-clock shop. Though the nice people there have stuck it in the mail for me.

It was an unbelievable weekend from start to finish including a broken water heater which meant five days with no hot water, tick bites, bats in shoes, and encounters with dozens of wallabies, a seven-foot python, king parrots, a bush turkey, and a wild boar. Only in Australia, I tell you.

Over & Out, Good Buddies
Well, it's time to shut down for a few days. We're headed to the mountains for what promises to be a relaxing time... not to mention a little celebrating that little event that happened one year ago on Sunday.

This morning we ran a few last minute errands before work. Took time out to sit for a coffee at Starbucks, something I'm learning that I don't miss quite as much as I thought I did. And then I was given a gift of two purchases at the bookstore. One was a little journal that comes from the same line as these with beautiful brown kraft paper inside. (I'm totally addicted to paper products... but I have the hardest time starting a new book, because I'm afraid to mess it up.)

And I also got the latest edition of the guide to the Wildlife of Greater Brisbane. I'm hoping to see a few new creatures this weekend, so I thought I should have an informational backup as we'll be without Wikipedia.

Have a great weekend. I'll take lots of photos, and probably won't get around to posting them... America, anyone?

Hint Hint
In case my husband ever sees this and needs a gift idea... I found Dejarnette New Orleans at Oh My That's Awesome, and there are a few necklaces I ♥love♥: Fleur Trouvee, Art Deco, and Artifact. Mmm...

Footy Shmooty
There's a little event here called State of Origin, and I have no idea what it's about. I couldn't even say, without looking at the website, exactly which sport it is. All I know is that 50,000 people are going to be descending upon our workplace neighborhood tonight, and I have every intention of getting out of here early.

Little Lightning Bugs
I found a little place today called Rare Bird Finds, which led me to a place called Catching Fireflies, where I found this amazing jar of "fireflies" that I must have. (Australia doesn't have them at all, you see.)

But then I found a bunch of other things that I love too, so I'm just going to share them since I'll never order them:
♥ the bouncing bud vase
♥ the dip chiller
♥ the blossom crown
♥ the "love at first sight" frame (which would make a great gift for certain someones I know... eeee!)
♥ And no, I'm absolutely not talking about us.
♥ the wine bottle cork candles

Mountain Madness
We're leaving for the mountains on Friday morning, so my life is revolving around getting everything ready to go. Yes, we're staying at a furnished house, but will they have everything I need to survive? I don't know. To be safe, I'm packing half the house... to Hans's dismay. Listen, if we're going to the trouble of bringing nice porterhouse steaks up there to grill, I'm going to be darn sure we have steak knives with which to cut them!

My goal while we are up there is to get a glimpse of a pademelon... some sort of miniature kangaroo/wallaby people keep telling me about.

Sean over at Notes from a New Country keeps a tally of all the things that can kill you on this continent, but I've found a new one. The Bunya Mountains are covered with, wait for it, Bunya Pine trees. And on the government website, it reads:

Avoid lingering under bunya pines between December and March. That is when the soccer-ball sized cones weighing up to 10kg fall from the tops of towering trees.

Great. Hopefully they will all have fallen by now.

Lost in Translation
stack hat (stak hat)
n. bicycle helmet
"What's that lady doing wearing a stack hat in her car?"

A Food Meme

The rules:

1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Joe (NE Tennessee, USA)
10K Monkeys (Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA)
Big Stupid Tommy (Athens, Tennessee, USA)
Danielle (Brisbane, Queensland, AU)

2. List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.

1. Ginga, South Bank... I admit I had limited exposure to sushi and japanese food in general before coming to Australia, but this place has won my heart. Lots of options that don't involve seafood. We always get a spread to share, which often includes california roll, vegetable tempura, gyoza, and edamame.

2. A Taste of Texas, Cleveland... I just raved about this place a couple posts ago, but honestly, it's worth mentioning again. Best Mexican food this town has to offer unless you're coming to my house!

3. Original Thai, Paddington... And again, Thai food? Where does one get Thai food when one grows up in Iowa? No where, that's where. But I am a full-on curry addict now. We love the people who run this place and get lunch there several times a week. I recommend the yellow, red & green currys. Mmmm...

4. Hog's Breath Cafe... This is the place to go when we're craving a good, reasonably-priced steak. They slow-cook their meat for something like 18 hours, so it's absolutely tender. I'm a fan of their hickory barbecue steak.

5. I'm having a hard time thinking of a fifth, but I'll go with Fat Boys, Fortitude Valley... the only thing I've ever had there was the pumpkin pizza with pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, feta & rocket -- but it's super yummy, and now I'm craving it.

6. Onyx, Milton... okay, well the feta reminded me of this place. They serve up some great tapas, and we stop there on nights we're too hungry to wait for the train.

3. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

This is the hard part... Tash? You want in? Pretty much if anyone wants to do it, feel free and leave a comment.

Kitchen Confessions
Help out my friend Leslie by watching her kitchen confession. If she gets the most views, she gets an extreme kitchen makeover or something like that. :)

Blogger Confessions
I got a new computer at work, and now I'm trying to get everything moved back onto it that I need.

We've had a rather boring existence lately. All my energies are focused on surviving until our mountain getaway in a little over a week.... wheeeee!

Mexican JACKPOT!
It is with great joy that I say WE FOUND A REAL MEXICAN RESTAURANT! The owner is a microbiologist from Arizona, so the food is all prepared fresh with a REAL Southern flavour. I had delicious fajitas and tasted the chimichanga, which was great too... with a REAL Tex-Mex kick to it. Oh my goodness.

And we had margaritas, because Dan & Lisa had never had them before. ??? I know.

Overall, the place is a hit -- it's called A Taste of Texas on Middle Street in Cleveland, for anyone in the Brisbane area searching for good Mexican food.

Breakfast Doesn't Get Any Cuter Than This
This morning we had penguin-shaped waffles for breakfast. So cute! And we put icecream and/or whipped cream and mixed berries in their tummies. Oh my gosh. I officially love waffles now.

We went on a little appliance spree the other night. I bought the waffle maker for Hans. He bought the cute air popper popcorn maker for me. And then we got a space heater for the bathroom, as winter is a-comin'.

Linky Links
Callalillie: blog to peruse

Open Letter to Most Australian Retailers
Hi!

First of all, welcome to the internet. Also welcome to 2007.

Now, please cut it out with the opening-of-the-new-window-just-because business. (Exhibit A & B) And usually it's not "just because" but it's "just because of all the ridiculous flash we're incorporating for no reason". (Exhibits C & D) You can cut that out too.

While you're at it, how about showing some of your products and making them easy to find. Call me crazy, but maybe you could consider putting ALL your products on there just for kicks. (Exhibits E & F) Sorry, while I appreciate the effort it takes to upload PDFs of your paper catelog, that's just not cutting it for me. (Exhibit G)

I suppose it would be too much to ask to be able to order something while I'm at your website, because I don't live in Melbourne or Sydney.

Why do you all hate me? Please change.

Thanks,
Danielle

Potential Weirdness, But Not
This morning we were getting off the train, and a guy comes up to me.

"Excuse me, are you Danielle?"
"Yes?"
"From Tennessee?"
"Yes?"
"I'm [insert name]. I sent you a message on myspace a while back."

My instant reaction was panic, as I've had a barrage of wackos sending me lunch invitations on myspace lately. Turns out that he was not one of them, and in fact we had corresponded briefly as he is from Texas and is also on the quest for "real" Mexican food in this town. And, in fact, we may meet up with him and his wife in the future.

But still... it was a bit weird at the time.

Australian Arbonne!
I no longer have to be completely stingy with my soap and lotion and shampoo and cosmetics -- ARBONNE is coming to AUSTRALIA! I'm signing back up the second I can, and maybe I'll try to build a little business out of it. Such an untapped market; maybe it would be easy?

Lost in Translation
hotel
n. a dining establishment which also likely features a section with poker machines but does not have rooms in which to spend the night... unless it is more than two stories, in which case, it is then called a "hotel" but may or may not have the restaurant and/or the pokies.
"It's a proper hotel with food and pokies."

Admission
I'm seriously trying not to get involved with Big Brother, but it's hard, people. It's really hard. It doesn't help that I always seem to be coming home and turning on the television just as it starts.

And Finally...
New expat blog coming soon to a sidebar near you: Outback Dobbs

Ooops
Sorry for not posting about the casting call earlier, Manda. Just realized the thing is closed now -- but I did vote three times, if that counts.

Links for Later
Pixilate.com: Small fonts, text replacement.

French Toast Girl is doing a month-long art challenge for May. Create something, anything, for Every Day in May. I did a little watercolor this morning. Tomorrow might be a photo or a sweet treat (baking is an artform, right?)... who knows.