Hit It
My mind has just been blown. Every now and then, it becomes so apparent that my husband and I are from different worlds.

I cannot believe I just introduced him to Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. Even if you don't know the names, you know the songs, right? (Unless you grew up in Australia, I guess.)

That's New
I was just watching what I believe to be Korean news with another Asian language overdub. It was like watching a bad kung-fu movie and still not understanding what they are saying.

I'm a Breadmaking Machine
On one of my new podcasts of The Splendid Table, Lynn spoke to Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois about their book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking. It was a short segment, but I was instantly intrigued.

I love the idea of fresh bread -- bread which contains only what I decide goes in. My grandma makes wonderfully delicious bread herself. And I have made attempts in the past, but who has time (or counter space) for all the kneading and rising and everything?

So Jeff & Zoe's book has a "master recipe" which can be found on the Splendid Table site. And then apparently the book has all kinds of variations for those more adventurous. I admit, I did read the preview of the first part of the book to get additional tips, but I do intend to buy the book to support them.

I bought the flour and gigantic container of yeast granules with a confidence that surprised even me. I had a big container that fits in the door of my fridge, and so I mixed up the dough as directed, let it rise, and then refrigerated it overnight.

The next day, I lopped off a hunk of dough, formed it into a bit of a log, and after resting, baked it. It was beautiful. I should have taken photos. The next day I tried again with the oven temp down slightly and left it in a bit longer. I was approaching perfection. I MAKE BREAD, people!

The dough can stay in the fridge for up to two weeks, and as it ages, it develops more sourdough flavour. It's so simple to mix up. There's no kneading involved. In fact, you're meant to handle it as little as possible.

The other night, Hans took some out and after resting, he pressed out a couple little pizza crusts. The dough is pretty sticky, so we used a lot of flour on the hands and cutting board. We also sprinkled polenta on the pizza stone to help remove after baking. The pizza turned out amazing, and I'm sure this will become a regular treat.

I recommend everyone give it a try! Have a look at the author's website: www.artisanbreadinfive.com. You can also do a Google search, and you'll find tons of people talking about their experiences too.

Other Yummy Goodness
While I'm talking food, I came across this recipe for this crockpot recipe for Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup by another American blogger in Australia Elsja. It sounds SO GOOD. Too bad it's too hot to try it now!

Other Expats
And while I'm talking about American expats, Aussie Erin is a New Yorker in Sydney.

And We're Done
I have to say that the launch was so much fun and so unbelievable. People came! You know how you plan something big, and then you start to wonder if anybody will even show up? Well, over 250 people did. It was so wonderful.

I didn't even take my camera along. Knowing I would be running around the whole day, I didn't want to have to worry about lugging it with me. (That, and it's not on our insurance yet... oops.) Plus I knew there would be way-more-competent photographers there. *ahem*McGaws*ahem* So I haven't seen any shots yet, but he looked pretty hot if I do say so myself. (Although, I think the girl who was bummed to find out that he was married would agree.)

And then it worked out that a friend was able to come and shoot the set on a Red, which should make for some really great footage. I can't wait to see that either.

So we're just floating in a haze of post-show afterglow. It's nice.

The Tax Man Cometh
Probably the worst part about being in Australia, besides the obvious lack of Dr. Pepper, is their financial year ending June 30. And because I'm never good about doing these things in a timely manner, it seems like I am under the constant weight of having to hurry and get my taxes done for one country or the other.

So this year, I'm making a vow that I am going to stay on top of this so that when it comes time for somebody to know what I've earned, I can just fill out the form and be done with it instead of having to dig through files and folders and making phonecalls. It will all be right there.

I spent the afternoon modifying the PearBudget Spreadsheet to suit my needs of tracking deductibles and things like that. While I would really love for us to be a by-the-letter budget-keeping family, we're not quite to THAT point. But baby steps, right?

Non-Universal Marketing
Setting the stage: We stopped at a shop on the way in to work to get some juice. There was a display of Limited Edition Big Red gum by the cash register. (Australians don't really do "cinnamon" so much.)

Me: So kiss a little longer
Hold tight a little longer
Stay close a little longer
Longer with Big Red

Sing with me now!

That Big Red freshness lasts right through it
Your fresh breath goes on and on
While you chew it

Come on!

Say goodbye a little longer
Make it last a little longer
Give your breath long lasting freshness with BIG RED!

Don't you know the Big Red song?

Him: I thought the answer was pretty obvious when I didn't join in.

Me: Weird. I thought everyone knew the Big Red song.

Pretty Things
Yesterday, for the first time in a long while, I found a whole bunch of sites on the internet that interested me. I've been quite un-entertained by the w-cubed lately, thus the lack of posting perhaps.

It all started with the discovery of Below the Clouds... a site on which I cannot read a word, but the pictures and hyperlinks have lead me to such amazing finds, such as:
♥ handpresso: if you ever find me camping (which is highly unlikely), I would most likely be found with one of these beautiful coffee-making devices.

♥ Retro Joy: hello! A candle holder that looks like the base of a joystick. Does it get any cooler?

♥ Moss Online: store with many pretty things I'll never order.

♥ A Low Impact Woodland Home: so hobbity, so earth-friendly, so how I wish I could be knowing realistically it will never happen.

Cassette Tape Dispenser: it's a sticky-tape dispenser shaped like a cassette tape. Love it!

I also found Bella Dia today through one of the sites I linked yesterday. Just love those yarn ball flowers.

Christmas Tags

I got tagged by Tommy. He tags me now and then, and while I always have the best of intentions, I seem to be pretty slack about following through on the actually posting. Be sure to read his answers -- but wait until after you've read mine, because he's funnier than I am.

1) Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2) Share Christmas facts about yourself.
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4) Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Wrapping or gift bags? Wrapping. I love making pretty packages. (I just remembered one year the college group from church was having a Christmas party, and everyone was meant to bring a white elephant gift that was less than $5 or something like that. I took great care in wrapping mine -- a mixture of a couple of different natural papers, raffia and hemp ribbons, the works. It looked good and was the first one picked and was fought over. The final present stealer opened it only to find a can of spam. Loved it!)

2. Real or artificial tree? I don't even think that real trees are an option here. I have never seen them advertised. I think some people might have an evergreen in a pot (but really, aren't all trees here "ever green"?) that they might bring inside. I have my baby bunya that I haven't killed yet, but it's not strong enough to hold decorations, so I put a few baubles around the base.


But yeah, we also have the artificial tree, as seen here as I can't be bothered to repost.

3. When do you put up the tree? Tradition dictates the day after Thanksgiving, but neither of those days were holidays here. I didn't really have myself organized or in the mood to do it that weekend. Might have been a smidge depressed about being half a world away from my family. I think we finally got the tree up on the 1st.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever we can get up the energy to do so, but definitely before the end of January.

5. Do you like eggnog? I can't remember the last time I had eggnog. I feel like I remember my dad making it when I was a child, but I have no real recollection of the taste nor consistency.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My doll Amy

7. Do you have a nativity scene? We don't have any spare surface area at the moment. My mom still puts out the one that my sister made in Bible school ages ago. I think that's cute.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? It must have been the Christmas that I turned four. My grandparents gave me a set of firetrucks. Firetrucks! Granted my grandfather and dad are both firemen, but the reasoning was because they thought we needed some boyish toys in the house. A month and a bit later my brother came along. I blame him.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Ugh. I think I'm going to do a New-Year's letter instead. And it will most likely be emailed unless I pare my list down quite a bit with postage being $1.30/per for a card that people are going to throw away in a week anyway.

Though I must say, we have gotten probably six or seven Christmas letters/pictures from friends and family this year -- all from America. It's just not something they do here.

10. Favorite Christmas movie? Probably A Christmas Story. I'm going to miss TBS's marathon. Oh, and I've never seen It's a Wonderful Life nor Miracle on 34th Street, so maybe I just don't know what the cinematic world has to offer in terms of Christmas movies.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I did really well this year. We got my parents' presents in Sydney last month. Everything was in the mail to America by the 5th, I think. I was finished with Hans by the 8th.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's peanut brittle.

13. Clear lights or colored? Clear. (Except I got a string of snowflake-shaped lights that turned out to have blue lights in them... what the?)

14. Favorite Christmas song? "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"

15. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Stay here... *sniff*

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Were there nine? If so, yes.

17. Angel or star on the top of your tree? I had a leftover silver bow that ended up getting chucked up there. I think my homemade fascinator from Melbourne Cup Day has also made it to the tree.

18. Open your presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we're opening my birthday presents.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That there is no amazon.com.au.

20. What do you leave for Santa? Nothing. My parents never tried to perpetuate that myth.

21. Least favorite holiday song? "Santa Baby"... eww, eww, eww.

22. Do you decorate your tree with any specific theme or color? At the moment it's purple, lime green, & silver.

23. Favorite ornament? All of them. Hans bought the tree and the baubles as part of my getting-engaged scavenger hunt. I had just returned from New Zealand and found the tree upstairs waiting for me... and later I found him in the park waiting for me with a ring.

Tags
As for tagging others... nobody ever does it... so if you want to do it, please leave me a comment so I can go read your answers!

Question of the Day
How in the world am I supposed to bake a pecan pie after work tomorrow when there are no frozen pie crusts in this country? The best I could find is a five-inch flan pastry thing.

Ugh. I don't even like pie.

Happy Horse Races
It's Melbourne Cup day. (Once again for the Americans, that's basically the equivalent to the Kentucky Derby except that everybody seems to care.)

So far today we've walked up the street for coffees since our machine here is broken. One of the girls and I stopped at the wedding stationary shop to pick up some sparkley thing to make our own $5 fascinators.

We're doing a bit of work at the moment. Well sorta.

And then we're going out for lunch and watching the race this afternoon. Good times.

A Conversation
We saw a boy on the train with two red strings tied around his wrist. Due to his ethnicity, I asked Hans if he knew if they had special meaning.

Him: They are what we like to call "friendship bracelets".
I give him the "that's crazy talk" look.
Him: That's apparently not the answer you were looking for.
Me: Listen, I KNOW friendship bracelets. I made like an infinity of them in grade school.

This is more along the lines of what I wanted to know.

Thunder Only Happens When It's Raining
We've had some lovely thunderstorms come through the area again. And yesterday the power was out at work for all but a couple hours. Gotta love that.

In unrelated news, the coffee machine here doesn't work anymore. Hence my lack of motivation to do anything.

Attack of the Birds
I have been warned of the dangers of walking under a magpie's nest during nesting season. Apparently every Australian kid has a story about getting swooped by an overprotective mother. I am appropriately wary and steer clear of them, and I thought I was good.

That was until we discovered that there is a butcherbird along the path we walk to the train that has taken to swooping as well. At first I thought he was just confused or maybe attracted to Hans's yellow t-shirt.

But no.... today we were a little ways behind a guy, and I watched the bird come down and hover around the guy before taking off. And then to my absolute horror (HORROR!), it came back down again and actually pecked the guy in the back of the head.

I hate birds. I really, really do.

And Another Thing
I hate Australian mosquitos. Mossies. Ugh. I'm dying here. I truly am scratching my flesh until I bleed. Hans says he had the same thing when he was in the States. They just have a different... what is that anyway? Venom? Saliva? Well whatever gets into the bites gives me huge welts.

Hail to the Chief
Last night they interrupted regular programming to cut to live footage of President Bush landing in Sydney. Believe it or not, Hans and I almost got into a heated discussion about it.

My issues: The press here take every opportunity to take potshots at him, and yet this warrants going to live coverage? And the reporter kept rattling off little tidbits that sounded, to me, like he was pointing out the excessiveness and possible needlessness of the advance preparations that were made. Going so far as to point out that Bush travels with a chef. (So what? Love him or hate him, I like to think that having an entourage is sort of one of the vocational perks of being the freaking president.)

Hans's claims: Australians, in general, love to hate people, and yet they are easily impressed with the celebrity of a person at the same time. And he's still the leader of the most powerful country (his words, not mine), so it is kind of a big deal.

I think my point is that world leaders travel to and from the U.S. with hardly a bat of an eye. His point is that this is the reason why people think Americans are arrogant. And it went on like this until we called truce.

(Though when the news came on later and they showed footage of the Chinese president landing in Canberra, I couldn't suppress a "why didn't he get live coverage?".)

The Heat is on in Saigon
I didn't mention that my wonderful husband bought tickets for Miss Saigon in Brisbane. I have never seen it and am really looking forward to seeing it next week. They won't have Australian accents, will they?

Expatriatism
Another American expat in Brisbane. Whee! (via The Briddles)

And speaking of Americans in Brisbane... there are about 5500 of them here right now. My brother-in-law does something or other down at the port, and I'm trying to get him to get me close enough to see the Kitty Hawk this weekend. Otherwise the photo gallery will have to suffice.

I [Have] An Everlasting Love
Am I a bad wife if a little tiny part of me wants to skip the show on Thursday because HOWARD JONES is going to be in town? Oh my gosh. Legendary.

And speaking of favourites from the past, PM freaking DAWN is playing in Sydney on the 1st. There's no way I could ever get there, but I'm still excited.

Pays to Be American
The audio engineer we work with asked me today if I might be available this week to record a voiceover. His client has an American accent she normally uses, but that person lives a bit far away for such a little job. So I might get paid to read six lines in my native accent. Now I'm concerned I won't sound authentic, since my new year's resolution was to embrace the Australian accent and vernacular this year.

Linky Links
www.washyourhands.tv - 92% of guys said they washed. 34% were lying.